Former Legislative Yuan secretary-general Lin Hsi-shan (林錫山) and 12 others were yesterday indicted for alleged irregularities in the procurement of computers for the legislature over a six-year period.
After a nearly four-month investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Lin received NT$39.5 million (US$1.22 million) in kickbacks for helping Farnet Technologies Co secure contracts for the supply of computers.
Farnet won 33 contacts from the legislature between 2011 and last year, and it was usually the lone bidder, prosecutors said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Also indicted were Lin’s wife, Liu Hsin-wei (劉馨蔚); Chen Lu-sheng (陳露生), a former section chief at the legislature’s Information Technology Office; Farnet Technologies chairman Lee Pao-cheng (李保承); six legislative staffers and four Farnet employees.
The investigation was launched after prosecutors received a tip in 2013 alleging that Lin had been taking kickbacks from the company.
Lin was legislative secretary-general from February 1999 to Jan. 31 this year, the day before a new legislature was seated.
He had represented Changhua County as a legislator from 1990 to 1999, before former legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) tapped him for the position.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
Japanese Councilor Hei Seki (石平) on Wednesday said that he plans to visit Taiwan, saying that would “prove that Taiwan is an independent country and does not belong to China.” Seki, a member of the Japan Innovation Party, was born in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province and became a naturalized Japanese in 2007. He was elected to the House of Concilors last year. His views on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) — espoused in a series of books on politics and history — prompted Beijing to sanction him, including barring Seki from traveling to China. Seki wrote on X that he intends