Prosecutors have filed an application to freeze the assets of former Taoyuan County deputy commissioner Yeh Shih-wen (葉世文), along with the bank accounts and properties of his girlfriend, Chen Li-ling (陳麗玲), as a probe into corruption allegations continues.
Prosecutors said the move aimed to prevent Yeh and Chen from hiding or transferring their assets — allegedly illegally gained — to other accounts, as well as stopping their families and close associates from money-laundering.
Investigators found that Chen, Yeh’s girlfriend outside his marriage, had provided four personal bank accounts in which Yeh deposited various alleged bribery payments and laundered money.
After checking Yeh’s property declaration, required for public servants, from October last year, prosecutors said that he had listed an outstanding mortgage on one property of NT$16 million (US$533,000).
That amount matched the alleged NT$16 million bribe paid to Yeh by Farglory Land Development Co chairman Chao Teng-hsiung (趙藤雄).
Yeh previously headed up the Ministry of Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency (CPA), which was the central government’s department responsible for the nation’s major construction projects.
Prosecutors said it was widely suspected in political and business circles that when Yeh headed the agency, he and other officials were the recipients of bribes and kickbacks from developers and construction firms.
When Yeh was forced to retire from the CPA in July last year, investigators alleged that with his usual flow of bribe money stemmed, Yeh began demanding large lump sums in bribes from companies with property development projects in his post as Taoyuan County deputy commissioner.
When Yeh was forced to retire as CPA director-general, even though he had an inkling that the anti-corruption agency may be trailing him, he was confident that he had covered his tracks, so he continued to seek bribes from companies in return for project approvals, prosecutors said.
It has been reported that Yeh was appointed deputy to Taoyuan County Commissioner John Wu(吳志揚) to implement and fast-track Wu’s personal pet project — the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project — which has been valued at NT$2.4 trillion to develop 4,771 hectares of land.
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
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS