The Taoyuan District Court on Wednesday found Sun Yi-ming (孫一鳴), former head of the Aviation Police Bureau’s aviation security section, guilty of corruption.
Sun, who was arrested in 2016, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison for receiving kickbacks and engaging in other illicit activities relating to a NT$70 million (US$2.31 million at the current exchange rate) contract to procure X-ray scanners, which were supplied by Chinese company Nuctech.
The main contractor in the case, Han Yuan Co owner Tsai Yi-jen (蔡依仁), was also found guilty of colluding with Sun and received a five-year and eight-month sentence.
An investigation found that Nuctech had sent a 30-something female sales manager, Li Weilin (李委霖), to lure Sun into a honeytrap and obtain information about the procurement project.
Experts said the case reeked of a Chinese intelligence operation, with an eye to penetrating Taiwan’s airport and border security, as Nuctech is known to be one of China’s “princeling companies” with strong political and business connections in Beijing.
Media reports have said that Hu Haifong (胡海峰), son of former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), was a former chairman of Nuctech, and that the company enjoys a close relationship with the Chinese military establishment and government agencies.
It is reportedly one of the few manufacturers of X-ray machines to obtain approval and certification by China’s civil aviation authority for installation at airports.
When prosecutors launched an investigation into case, questions were raised that the X-ray scanners might have embedded programs that send data and scanned images to China, threatening national security.
Local media reports said that at least four Nuctech X-ray scanners installed in 2014 were still being used at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, and several more are in other airports in the nation.
After their initial installation, airport security officials took to calling them “blind X-ray scanners,” because they compared poorly in terms of standard and performance with international brands, were prone to breakdowns and frequently unable to detect restricted items, media reports said.
Reports said that the US Department of Homeland Security had officially informed Taiwan that goods checked by the Nuctech scanners would not be allowed on flights to the US.
The investigation found that Sun received NT$3.06 million from Nuctech to approve the procurement, and that despite being married, he met frequently with Li for sex since 2013.
Li accompanied Sun on holiday trips to Singapore, the UK and various Chinese cities over the years, and a search of Sun’s residence found USB memory sticks containing sex tapes they had made during their travels, investigators said.
Sun colluded with Nuctech by working to have parts shipped for assembly and repackaging in Japan to deceive Taiwanese regulators, who were led to believe the scanners were made in Japan, bypassing a ban on Chinese-made products in procurements of high-tech machines used for national security, investigators said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS