Taiwan High Court Prosecutor General and convener of the "Black Gold Investigation Center" Lin Jie-der (林偕得) yesterday confirmed that prosecutors have issued the order for the arrest of arms dealer Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) on the charge of murdering former navy captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓).
Meanwhile, a PFP legislator made the sensational allegation that Minister of National Defense, Wu Shih-wen (
Andrew Wang was an agent of the Lafayette manufacturer, Thomson CSF, in Taiwan. He had allegedly offered a bribe of NT$9.5 million to former naval captain Kuo Li-heng (
Wang fled Taiwan a few days after Yin's death in December 1993, and is reported to be living in the US and holding a US passport.
"Wang is wanted for bribery and obtaining military secrets, and now a murder charge is added to the arrest order, " Lin said.
Wang has been under suspicion of involvement in Yin's murder. But prosecutors have been unable to get him back to Taiwan for questioning.
This month five former and incumbent naval officers have been detained on corruption charges for their alleged involvement in corruption surrounding the Lafayette frigate purchase.
Meanwhile, PFP Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
"A defense ministry internal investigative report on Yin's case was completed at the end of last year, and it shows that the military suspected Wu and Chin were involved." Lee said in a press conference yesterday at the Legislative Yuan.
The ministry, however, said it was opting not to respond to these accusations, because "the case is now sub judice."
It was disclosed by the media last week that the special investigative force investigating the Yin murder and related weapons purchase scandals is focusing on two incumbent high-ranking naval officers and, in order to protect the identity of the two, their names have been replaced for the investigation's internal purposes with code names with pronunciations similar to their actual names. One has been named "Wu Szu-chih" (吳思治) and the other "Ching Chih-ping" (荊治平).
At his press conference Lee Ching-hua announced "Wu Szu-chih' is Wu Shih-wen; Ching Chih-ping' is Chin Feng-hsiang."
Lee said that when Chin was the ordnance department chief of the naval General Headquarters in 1992 he visited an Italian arms company under the arrangement of arms dealers and was "entertained" by the Italian company, which produced 76mm guns.
Afterward, Lee said, Chin led the purchase of the Italian 76mm guns for the vessels. The price that Chin reported for the guns was US$3.4 million each, while Taiwan's military envoy in Singapore reported that the price Singapore paid for the exact same weapon from the same company was US$2.5 million each, Lee said.
Lee said that Chin actually controlled all purchases being dealt with by the naval weapons procurement office, of which Yin was the executive general.
"If Yin had been planning to reveal all purchase scandals in the Navy, `Wu' and `Ching' would have been badly affected. It's possible that Ching, in Wu's name, commanded someone to silence Yin and Yin was killed by mistake," Lee cited the alleged report from the defense ministry as saying.
He requested that Chin be suspended from his post and that Wu provide an explanation.
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
‘COINCIDENCE’: The former president should keep in mind local and global response to his actions and abide by the law to safeguard national interests, the MAC said The Presidential Office yesterday confirmed that it has received an application from former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit China next week and would be discussing his security detail. “As the travel restrictions on former president Ma have expired, we respect his plan to pay respect to his ancestors in China,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said. “We will review his travel plan and consult concerned agencies to assist him in arranging his security detail.” “We also hope that Ma, as a former commander in chief of Taiwan, acts in a manner that aligns with national interests and does not hurt
‘DIRE’: Taiwan would not engage in ‘dollar diplomacy,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after China reportedly offered Honduras up to US$3 billion to establish relations The government yesterday recalled its ambassador to Honduras after the Central American nation sent its foreign minister to China, signaling that it would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Suspicions concerning ties with Honduras are rife after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday last week wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina traveled to China on Wednesday “to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations” on instructions from Castro, Reuters yesterday quoted Honduran presidential spokesman Ivis Alvarado as saying. The government “has decided to immediately recall the ambassador to Honduras
‘NOTHING NEW’: China should not use Tsai Ing-wen’s transits through the US as a pretext to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait, a Washington official said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to stop over in the US on her way to and from Central America next week, but her administration would not confirm a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Tsai’s delegation is to leave Taipei on Wednesday next week and stop over in New York City, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) told a news conference yesterday. Tsai is then to head to Guatemala on Saturday next week for talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and to meet with Taiwanese expatriates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. On April 3, Tsai is scheduled to travel
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