Prosecutors yesterday indicted a top-ranking aviation police official on corruption charges following an investigation into allegations that a Chinese company used sexual enticements and kickbacks to secure sales of substandard Chinese-made X-ray scanners for use at Taiwanese airports.
In 2014, Sun Yi-ming (孫一鳴), then-chief of the Aviation Police Bureau’s Aviation Security Section, was in charge of a government procurement contract totaling NT$70 million (US$2.18 million at current exchange rates) for 17 X-ray scanners for airport security checks of passengers and luggage.
After their installation, airport security officials took to calling the machines “blind X-ray scanners” after finding that the devices are of substandard quality and performance compared with international brands, prone to breaking down and are frequently unable to detect restricted items.
Investigators found that the machines were made by China-based Nuctech Co (同方威視), which had the parts shipped for assembly and repackaging in Japan to deceive Taiwanese officials, who believed the devices were made in Japan, bypassing a ban on Chinese-made products in procurements of high-tech machines with uses related to national security.
Taoyuan prosecutor Liu Yu-shu (劉玉書) said the investigation indicated that 48-year-old Sun received NT$3.06 million from Nuctech in kickbacks and approved the procurement because he was seduced by a Chinese woman named Li Weilin (李委霖), who was then reportedly Nuctech’s sales manager for Taiwan.
Li, 32, allegedly seduced Sun, despite him being married with children, developing from frequent sexual trysts into a long-term extramarital affair beginning in 2013.
According to travel records, between 2014 and April this year, Li accompanied Sun on holiday trips to Singapore, the UK and various Chinese cities, investigators said, adding that a search of Sun’s residence in May uncovered USB memory sticks containing sex tapes they had produced during their travels.
Officials said the case was a classic case of a “honey trap,” a ploy used by intelligence agencies to entrap a male target with a female agent through the enticement of sex, adding that this case involved industrial espionage with national security implications.
When the case first came to light last year, airport security experts called it a serious breach of national security, as the X-ray scanners are networked and could be remotely controlled by Chinese operators to collect data or be rigged to enable the smuggling of weapons into Taiwan.
Investigators also found an e-mail to Sun written by Li, in which she made various promises to continue their relationship, such as vowing to remain faithful, give her love to Sun, always obey Sun’s commands and unconditionally support his decisions.
Typhoon Chanthu could make landfall as far north as Yilan or Hualien counties late tomorrow night, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday, adding that a land alert could be issued this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The bureau also said that it could possibly issue a sea alert late last night or early this morning. As of 2pm yesterday, Chanthu was 960km southeast of Pingtung County’s Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 15kph, but was projected to shift northward as it approached the Taiwan Strait due to a weakening Pacific high-pressure system, the bureau said. The bureau is closely monitoring the typhoon,
UNPREDICTABLE PATH: A sea alert for Typhoon Chanthu could be issued tonight or early tomorrow morning as it is expected to pass through the Bashi Channel Chanthu was upgraded to a stronger typhoon yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said, adding that it might not issue a land alert for the typhoon when it comes close to Taiwan on Sunday. As of 2pm yesterday, Chanthu was centered 1,330km southeast of Olaunpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 21kph, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph. The typhoon’s radius had expanded to 120km, the bureau said. Bureau forecaster Wang Chun-shian (王君賢) said that a sea alert for Typhoon Chanthu could be issued tonight or early tomorrow morning as it is expected to pass through the Bashi Channel. “As the typhoon’s radius is only
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reiterated Taiwan’s sovereignty, saying that it has never been ruled by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The ministry issued the remarks after Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau was quoted by the Chinese-language edition of Russia’s Sputnik News Agency as saying in an interview in Lithuania on Monday that Poland recognizes the “one China” policy and that Taiwan is part of China. The ministry would continue to stress to members of the international community that the Republic of China is a sovereign nation, not a part of the PRC, and that Taiwan’s future can
NO TIGHTENING: As there have not been any Delta variant infections in Taipei the capital would not be implementing stricter protocols, the mayor said The New Taipei City Government yesterday reinstated bans on dine-in services for all eateries across the municipality, effective today, as well as closing sports facilities due to a cluster of infections reported at a preschool in Banciao District (板橋). The Central Epidemic Command Center yesterday confirmed that the infections are the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. All eateries — restaurants, convenience stores, markets and night markets — are to observe bans on dine-in services from today until Wednesday next week, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told a news conference. Indoor sports centers, baseball and softball fields, ice skating rinks, athletics tracks, basketball
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