Controversy over the MG149 National Taiwan University Hospital bank account involving independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday prompted the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to call the hospital’s Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Division head Tsai Pi-ju (蔡璧如) for questioning.
Deputy chief prosecutor Chang Chin-chieh (張欽介) said the office is only gathering data and not officially investigating, due to the political nature of the situation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) has accused Ko of violating the Tax Collection Act (稅捐稽徵法) and using the MG149 account, a separate account reportedly set up specifically for Ko’s team when Ko was head of the hospital surgery department’s intensive care unit, to “launder” money — received for funding projects — for private use.
According to academics at National Taiwan University, the only account at the university for project funds was MG402, adding that any requests for such funding would have to be approved by 11 individuals before the process is completed.
The hospital confirmed that district prosecutors had come to the hospital and asked for information on the MG149 account, but that the office had not made it an official inquiry and investigation.
Aside from summoning Tsai for questioning, the office has also officially put the case under the “Ta” code and appointed anti-corruption team prosecutor Tsai Wei-yi (蔡偉逸) to lead the data-gathering efforts.
According to legal practice, filing cases under code “Ta” indicates that prosecutors consider the person’s conduct suspicious, but lack sufficient evidence to prove that the person is a criminal.
Commenting on the moves by prosecutors, Ko’s campaign headquarters said that prosecutors did not search the hospital, but that Tsai Pi-ju, a Ko campaign staff member, took the initiative to give prosecutors relevant documents.
“The prosecutors were accompanied by Tsai [Pi-ju] when they arrived at the hospital to check on relevant documents, and he gave the consent to allow prosecutors to take away the documents,” Yuan Hsiu-hui (袁秀慧), an attorney and a spokesperson at Ko’s campaign headquarters, told reporters. “We would like to reiterate that there is nothing unlawful in those accounts and we will continue to collaborate with the judiciary as it investigates the allegations.”
Meanwhile, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) called on KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) to make clear his attitude on the leak of a recording of a private staff meeting at Ko’s campaign office.
“This is unlawful and dirty. Lien should show his attitude on this incident, instead of using the contents of the voice recording to attack his rival, because this might make the public suspect the person who benefits from it may be behind it,” he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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