Local media reported yesterday the strategy adviser to the president and former Chief of the General Staff Liu Ho-chien (
Liu is the highest-ranking military official to date to be barred from leaving the country.
Lu Jen-fa (盧仁發), State Public Prosecutor-General and convener of the special task force investigating Yin's murder, neither confirmed nor denied the news that Liu had been barred from leaving the country.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Lu's task force found there were suspicious monetary transactions in bank accounts belonging to Liu's relatives during the years of the Lafayette frigate deal, Chinese-language media reports said yesterday.
The task force also believes it was Liu who tipped off Shan Yi-cheng (
Shan returned to Taiwan in July and prosecutors are investigating allegations that he used bribery to win a contract for German-made minesweepers.
The report said that according to investigations, another arms broker, Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), left the country after Yin's murder and may be involved in the case.
Wang was the representative in Taiwan for the French Lafayette manufacturer Thomson CSF.
According to the reports, members of the task force suspect that transactions detected in bank accounts held by Liu's relatives may have been bribery money paid by Wang.
However, the report quoted members of the investigative task force as saying that the restriction placed on Liu's travel did not indicate Liu's involvement in the crimes, but was merely investigative procedure.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary-General to the President Eugene Chien (
"The Yin case must be solved completely. However, human rights must be respected. All men are equal before the law and the government will not take further action before evidence has been gathered," he said.
Lu refused to respond to specifics concerning the travel ban.
"[Information related to the] investigation shall not be made public. I cannot say yes or no," Chien said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
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