Sixteen suspects in an ongoing embezzlement probe involving family members and people close to Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) were yesterday charged with offenses under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Changhua District prosecutors allege that Cho Po-chung (卓伯仲), the younger brother of the county commissioner, colluded with business groups to illegally pocket NT$49 million (US$1.63 million) in the procurement of environmentally friendly bags by the county government.
He is also suspected of having embezzled NT$24 million from President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presidential campaign office during last year’s presidential election.
Photo: Tang Shih-ming, Taipei Times
Prosecutors said they are seeking a heavy sentence.
Also charged were Cho Po-chung’s close friend Huang Ssu-chi (黃四吉); Yang Jui-mei (楊瑞美), acting head of the county government’s General Affairs Department; the General Affairs Department’s head of documentation Lee Yao-chuan (李耀全); Changhua County Industrial Development and Investment Promotion Committee Secretary-General Lu Chen-hsiung (呂振雄); and Yistunee Enterprise Co owner Feng Chi-feng (馮啟峰).
The Changhua County Government said in a statement that it respected the investigation and that during his term as county commissioner, Cho Po-yuan never authorized or instructed people to undertake any illegal activities.
The county goverment said it hoped the judiciary would soon clarify the facts of the case.
In the indictment document, prosecutors allege that Cho Po-chung, through his friend Huang, contacted Feng Chi-feng in October 2011 to rig a tender and fix the prices of environmentally friendly bags needed for last year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival, which was held in Changhua County.
Cho Po-chung then allegedly instructed Yang Jui-mei to rig the tender bid for the procurement by setting narrow specifications on the quantity of bags and the delivery date to deter other companies from making rival bids, the indictment said.
However, Yistunee Enterprise did not win the bid, so Cho Po-chung cut the order for the bags from 7 million to 10,000, alledgedly to force the firm that won the bid to give it up. The tender was then reopened and Yistunee Enterprise won the bid.
Following that, Cho Po-chung increased the order to allow the company to pocket an illegal profit of NT$49 million, the indictment said.
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