A top Air Force official was demoted and reassigned yesterday, a day after news reports alleged he asked dozens of military personnel to serve at a lavish wedding for his son on New Year’s Day.
In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said that Air Force Commanding General Lei Yu-chi (雷玉其) would be assigned as deputy chief of the General Staff for the Air Force, with immediate effect.
Lei, the former head of the ROC Air Force Academy, has been placed under investigation by an anti-corruption task force when detailed documents on the plans for his son’s wedding were leaked to the press.
PHOTO: CNA
Held for 700 guests at the Air Force Officers and Soldiers Recreation Center in Taipei, reports said the preparations included the use of large numbers of military personnel and a Hummer. Lei denied on Wednesday night that either of the two were a misuse of administrative resources.
While he apologized for “causing distress” to his superiors, he said he had borrowed the Hummer from a friend and that the military staff at the wedding — who reports said were in charge of tasks ranging from driving to greeting guests — were volunteers.
“The Hummer was the type used by civilians and not a military vehicle. As for the staff that [helped out] during the wedding, they were volunteers using their weekend off,” he said at a press conference.
He added that he would cooperate with the investigation.
According to a copy of the documents — which some lawmakers have likened to a military battle plan — more than 50 soldiers were also tasked with operating a motorcade to accompany the wedding couple, a car to ferry the photographers and a team to safeguard cash gifts at the party.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, said the plan “far surpassed” the preparations for the Han-Kuang exercises — the nation’s largest annual military drills.
“The Air Force should seriously consider working with wedding planners and establishing an Air Force wedding consulting company,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Shuai Hua-ming (帥化民), another committee member, accused Lei of “political insensitivity.”
The controversy was apparently enough to concern President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who immediately asked the ministry to “deal swiftly” with the matter, Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅志強) said.
Ma presided over Lei’s promotion in July 2009, saying during his speech that he was determined to “fight corruption in the military.”
Replacing Lei as Air Force Commanding General is Yen Ming (嚴明), another former headmaster of the ROC Air Force Academy and one of Lei’s rivals for the post in 2009.
Ma approved the change yesterday.
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