The Shilin District Court has ruled that the Ministry of National Defense had violated the Labor Standards Act (勞基法) and must pay Kuo Ching-lung (郭靖隆), a former Armaments Bureau civilian engineer, his NT$2.6 million (US$86,195) pension.
Kuo was involved in a ministry scandal in 2009 after the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office revealed that the bureau had been giving sensitive and classified materials, including 3D simulations of military installations, as well as pictures of military vessels and structures, to military contractor Lin Chih-chung (林治崇).
Prosecutors said Lin and his group were giving money to help military officers secure contracts and Kuo was investigated on suspicion of acting as the middleman between the officers and the military contractor.
After the scandal became public, the ministry transferred Kuo twice and gave him two major demerits and two minor demerits in January last year, citing six reasons.
The Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office, which found insufficient evidence to prove Kuo’s guilt, closed the case in June last year.
However, the prosecutors believed Kuo’s actions had violated the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法). They sent a notice to the Armaments Bureau to take legal action against him and notified the prosecutors’ office.
The bureau stepped up its punitive measures and fired Kuo according to the military’s rules on employment and canceled his pension.
Kuo countersued the military for illegal dismissal, citing the Labor Standards Act, which has applied to civilian workers in the military since 1999. Kuo started work at the Combined Logistics Command, the predecessor to the Armaments Bureau, and had been a contract employee since 1988.
The Shilin District Court ruled that Kuo’s circumstances met the standards of illegal dismissal and ruled that the bureau should give Kuo his pension.
The case can be appealed.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
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