Investigators yesterday summoned two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians in Chiayi County for questioning on suspicion of involvement in an irregular construction bid, in a move that the opposition said may have been politically motivated.
The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said in a press statement that DPP Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), who is a former Chiayi county commissioner, as well as a number of county officials were summoned for questioning in the morning.
Former Council for Economic Planning and Development vice chairman Chang Ching-sen (張景森) and a contractor, Chun Lung Development Co (春龍開發公司) chairman Pan chung-hao (潘中豪), were also questioned.
Photo: CNA
A total of 60 people were questioned, the office said. Questioning was ongoing as of press time last night.
The office said that 13 prosecutors with the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office led 150 agents from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) to search the county government, Chang’s residence, her daughter’s residence and other targets.
The prosecutors’ office said the investigation was looking into the Dapumei (大埔美) Intelligent Industrial Park at the Dapumei Herbs Park, which was a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project.
The prosecutors said that in the proposal, the county government and the contractor each provided NT$1.5 billion (US$50 million) for the project, while Chun Lung Development Co won a public tender held by the county government.
Prosecutors said they suspected Pan had bribed Helen Chang, Chang Ching-sen and Chen Ming-wen with “several million” or “tens of millions” of New Taiwan dollars to ensure his company obtained the project.
County government spokeswoman Hsu Shu-fen (許淑芬) told a press conference that 16 government officials, including Helen Chang, were summoned for questioning.
Vice Commissioner Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) said she had convened a meeting for chief officials of the county government, adding that she believed the county government was clean and innocent, and hoped that all officials could continue to work as hard as usual.
Lin said the county government had contacted the families of the officials who were being questioned and would keep them informed of the developments in the case.
Responding to the raids, DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said that as the investigation into a corruption scandal involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), which has threatened to engulf the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), was ongoing, the sudden raid at the Chiayi County Government could be an attempt by prosecutors to shift attention away from the KMT administration.
Wang said the launch of the investigation was suspicious and could very well be motivated by politics.
Additional reporting by CNA
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday. When Philippine forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Saturday due to bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help, but later saw that the ship had been extricated, Philippine navy regional spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said. No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among