Taipei prosecutors said yesterday that the wreckage and parts of a US rocket offered by Taiwan Pineapple Corp chairman Huang Tsung-hung (黃宗宏) to help pay a fine have been appraised at about NT$200 million (US$6.3 million). Prosecutors said they have given the parts to a Chaiyi museum.
Huang was convicted of misappropriating more than NT$700 million from Chung Hsing Commercial Bank.
Arrested in Keelung in November 2007 while attempting to flee the country by boat, Huang is currently serving time in Taipei Prison after he was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in October 2007 for misuse of the bank’s funds.
Taipei prosecutors said Huang, who could not afford to pay the NT$300 million (US$10 million) fine, had his family offer more than 600 pieces from his antiques collection to prosecutors.
They are being appraised by experts to assess their value.
Prosecutors said Huang later remembered he also had parts and wreckage from the US rocket Titan II that could help to pay off his fine.
The wreckage was stored at Huang’s farm in Pingtung County.
Prosecutors said Huang told them the rocket parts and wreckage, which came from a Japanese company — Space Age — were valued at about NT$50 million in the 1990s.
Huang said he came to own the wreckage because the Japanese company was unable to repay its debt to him, so its officials gave him the parts as compensation, the prosecutors added.
Prosecutors said the judiciary has donated the wreckage to Chaiyi County’s Tropic of Cancer Solar Exploration Center for display. The exhibition will open to the public on Sept. 4.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS