Taipei City councilors yesterday accused the Taipei Traffic Police Corps of corruption by collaborating with weigh-station companies to fine overloaded gravel trucks.
The Taipei Traffic Police Corps' third division had fabricated fines on gravel trucks in an attempt to earn bonuses and commissions, DPP councilors Lee Chien-chang (
According to Tsai, the Taipei Traffic Police Corps had been ordered by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Since the Taipei City Government does not have a government-run weigh station, Tsai said, it signed a contract with five private companies to carry out weight measurements. The city government has agreed to pay these companies NT$250 for each truck weighed.
Between June and December last year, 3,512 inspections were conducted, prompting police headquarters to request NT$878,000 from the city government for the private contractors, Tsai said citing information provided by Taipei City police.
"Yet of these 3,512 fines, nearly one-third of them were missing the signature of either the on-duty police officer, the gravel truck driver or in some cases both," Tsai said.
"If the accounting unit within police headquarters has not been part of this corruption, how could it let such problematic documents pass?" Tsai asked, adding that police had apparently collaborated with certain weigh-station companies to get kickbacks based on a share of the NT$250 fee.
Aside from the questionable fines, Lee said that he uncovered further evidence of corruption when comparing fine records to police officers' work schedule.
"Some were found to have their signed signatures on fine receipts when in fact it was their day off," Lee said. "How is it possible that such illegal acts have not been noticed all this time? The supervision system is negligent."
Chiang said that the fact police fabricated their signatures on their days off itself amounts to forging documents.
In response to the allegations, Huang Chia-lu (
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS