The Changhua District Court yesterday turned down prosecutors’ request to detain a Changhua County Government official suspected of involvement in graft.
Changhua County Government official Chen Hsueh-li (陳雪莉), who formerly served as the director of the county’s environmental protection bureau, was instead released on bail of NT$300,000.
Investigators on Tuesday searched the county government’s offices, as well as the offices of the environmental protection bureau and some contractors.
Prosecutors said that they suspect Chen was involved in at least four questionable tenders during her tenure as the bureau chief, such as a procurement project for facilities to test the county’s underground water.
Chen allegedly received NT$3 million (US$101,567) in bribes in exchange for leaking names of evaluation committee members to a contractor surnamed Cheng (鄭), and for helping him win bids, prosecutors said.
Cheng was released on NT$200,000 bail.
This case marks the latest in a series of graft investigations against the county government.
The allegations of corruption have seriously damaged the local government’s reputation, with Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) accused by a local businessman of demanding kickbacks in a golf club development project, while Cho’s younger brother, Cho Po-chung (卓伯仲), is suspected of manipulating several tenders, including those for souvenir bags, ceramics and calendars which Cho Po-yuan distributed to supporters in the county, and for also allegedly receiving kickbacks from a contractor.
Cho Po-chung has been detained by the district court, while sources said that Cho Po-yuan is likely to be summoned for questioning by prosecutors after they have finished strengthening their case against him.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS