The Water Resources Agency (WRA) is under investigation for possible improprieties in a number of projects, including one that has been blamed for the landslides that buried a village in Kaohsiung County during Typhoon Morakot in August, a source from the Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said on Saturday.
Almost 500 residents of Siaolin (小林) were buried by massive mudslides triggered by the typhoon, which dumped more than 1,800mm of rain on the area over three days.
Some survivors have suggested that explosions set off to excavate a tunnel for the Tsengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫) water diversion project weakened the stability of the terrain around the village, contributing to the severity of the mudslides.
However, a report released on Feb. 1 by the Public Construction Commission (PCC) ruled out the possibility and attributed the tragedy to the massive amounts of rainfall, a conclusion survivors have been unwilling to accept.
Investigators have now decided to look into the process of how public water resource projects have been commissioned to private contractors over the past decade, prosecutors said.
Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢), the former director-general of the WRA, resigned his post last September amid reports accusing him of having improper relations with contractors, especially in his role as the decision-maker on the Tsengwen Reservoir water diversion project, allegations he has denied.
Investigators have asked the WRA, PCC, and city and county governments for documents related to water project tenders going back 10 years, including NT$360 billion (US$11 billion) in projects tendered out over the six years that Chen was in charge the agency.
A source in the Special Investigation Division said investigators may summon ranking WRA officials and Chen for questioning after the Lunar New Year holiday.
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