Sung Nai-wu (宋乃午), former chief secretary of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), was yesterday sentenced to 12 years in jail for accepting bribes and acting without authority in handling the controversial build-operate-transfer (BOT) project for a highway electronic toll collection system.
The Taipei District Court also barred Sung from serving in any government positions for eight years.
Tsai Ching-hong (
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Former MOTC minister Lin Ling-san (
Meanwhile, investigators have said that they would reopen their investigation into Lin's alleged involvement.
"I am really upset that I was listed alongside Sung and Tsai in this alleged scandal," Lin told reporters after the verdict was announced.
Taipei District Court spokesman Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩) said that, based on the documents approved by the ministry, it was impossible that Lin had not known that Sung was convening a meeting with MOTC officials and potential bidders.
After hearing the verdict, Sung said it was regrettable that the judges had interpreted an apparently personal relationship as a case of bribery. He said he would appeal the verdict.
"It's a politically charged verdict," Sung said. "From the beginning to the end, the prosecutors failed to present convincing evidence. I sympathize with the judges, who managed to reach such a decision in the current political situation."
Sung also questioned the validity of the verdict.
Although he was prosecuted on charges of corruption and illegally divulging secrets on business operations, the verdict simply focused on the latter, he said.
Meanwhile, MOTC Minister Tsai Duei (
Tsai said the ministry had not yet received the official verdict from the district court, but judging by the court's press release issued yesterday, the verdict did not clearly indicate that criminal actions committed by Tsai and Sung have directly affected the outcome of the second round of the review process.
"The Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau will continue the review process based on the ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court," Tsai said, adding that motorists could continue to buy the onboard units and that the ministry would do everything it can to protect motorists' interests.
Tsai's statement was met with a barrage of questions from reporters, who said that the criminal acts Sung had been convicted of were relevant to the electronic toll system.
According to a district court press release, Tsai colluded with Sung, who advised Lin to authorize research by the ministry's Institute of Transportation on the advantages of infrared technology for the toll collection system. Moreover, Sung gave seemingly convincing statistics to researchers at the institute and asked them to incorporate the figures into their own research.
When asked whether the ministry would compensate Far Eastern Toll Collection Co to the tune of approximately NT$40 million (US$1.22 million), the sum the company requested to continue operating the electronic toll collection system until another contractor is named, Tsai said that he respected the request, but would not necessarily agree to it.
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