The High Court yesterday found former Veterans Affairs Council minister Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔) guilty of leaking confidential information, which it said enabled two companies in 2008 to secure two public projects worth more than NT$419 million (US$13.12 million) combined.
Hu, who was once commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Army, retired from service in 2007 before joining the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which expelled him in 2011 after he was found guilty on corruption charges stemming from a separate case.
Hu was given five months in jail by the High Court, but the judges said the sentence could be commuted to a fine of NT$150,000.
The court found Hu not guilty on corruption charges in yesterday’s second ruling, which can be appealed.
Hu was council minister from February 2007 to May 2008.
The two council projects were tendered at that time, with Hu in charge of reviewing bids in the public process.
One project was to upgrade and manage respiratory ward facilities at Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Suao Branch in Yilan County, which had a price tag of about NT$400 million. The other project was to set up a remote patient-monitoring system and home care that cost about NT$19 million.
The court said that one contractor invited Hu to a banquet at the World Trade Center Club in Taipei and picked up the then-minister’s bill of NT$26,000.
The same company spent NT$14,000 to treat Hu, along with family and friends, to another party at the same club to see the New Year’s Eve fireworks show at Taipei 101, it said.
Another firm spent NT$28,000 to host Hu at an event at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the court said.
The two firms later secured the projects, the court said.
Investigators said that Hu leaked information regarding the conditions of the tenders and names of council committee members responsible for evaluating the bids and deciding which companies would be awarded the projects.
They said that the two companies gained an unfair advantage that led to them winning the bids.
The court also found Hu’s chief secretary, Han Wen-chung (韓文忠), and the hospital’s medical administration section chief, Lung Yu-wu (龍雨舞), guilty of charges related to the case.
Han and Lung were given four-month and two-month prison terms respectively, both of which can be commuted to a fine.
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