Prosecutors yesterday detained a former Taipei City government official as part of an investigation into allegations of overpricing for a highway improvement project.
The Taipei District Court said Chen Chih-sheng (陳智盛), the former section chief of the New Construction Department under the city’s Public Works Bureau, was under suspicion and detained him to prevent collusion with other suspects.
Prosecutors also applied to have former New Construction Department director Huang Hsi-hsun (黃錫薰) and Join Engineering Consultants (昭凌顧問工程公司) employee Lee Mei (李媺) detained, but the court ruled to release Huang on NT$500,000 bail and Lee on NT$300,000 bail. The court also prohibited the two from leaving the country.
Chen, Huang and Lee were among five former or current officials questioned by prosecutors a day earlier and listed as defendants on a charge of corruption. On Tuesday night, former New Construction Department chief engineer Chang Li-yen (章立言) was released on NT$500,000 bail and New Construction Department Vice Director Lin Ching-fan (林慶釩) was released without any conditions attached.
Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Wang Wen-te (王文德) said prosecutors are appealing the decision to release Huang and Lee on bail, Wang said.
On Tuesday morning, agents from the Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Justice, led by four prosecutors from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, conducted a simultaneous search of 27 locations as part of an investigation into prices paid by the city government for the Xinsheng Overpass construction project.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday said Chen’s detention was a blow.
“It’s painful news. Integrity has always been the core value and the most important asset of my team ... I trust that the prosecutors will check the project thoroughly and present the truth,” he said.
Hau added the case would affect his re-election campaign, but said he would answer public concerns with candor.
The latest searches of Taipei City government officials left some Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials worried that politicians across the political spectrum are being treated differently.
“I think there is a broad perception in this country that the judiciary handles cases differently based on political color,” DPP spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said. “It’s something I’m sure nobody wants to see.”
Tuesday’s searches, which included the residences of city officials and the offices of a number of municipal contractors, did not include a search of the mayor’s Taipei City Hall office.
“We see that when the judiciary is dealing with local DPP politicians — they burst into their offices and in some cases even arrest them on the spot,” Tsai said.
In October 2008, then-DPP Chiayi County commissioner Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) had his offices searched by police after being accused of colluding with a local contractor. He was detained but later released, after going on hunger strike, when prosecutors decided to drop their case.
The next month, DPP Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) was also taken into custody at her office after prosecutors accused her of receiving kickbacks from two local construction projects. The case was also later dropped, and Su released, after another hunger strike.
Some DPP lawmakers have asked whether there is a separate set of standards for politicians from different parties — or whether Hau had simply told prosecutors that his office was off-limits.
“Did the city government explicitly say that there was some sort of restriction zone in place for the offices of high-ranking public employees?” DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) asked.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH AND CNA
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