The Taipei City Government yesterday denied allegations that it had attempted to cover up the maladministration of the mayoral allowance fund.
It also dismissed allegations that more than one staffer was involved in the controversy.
City government officials said on Tuesday that after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators including Hsieh Hsin-ni (
Asked why the city government had not made the findings of its investigation public until Tuesday night, Taipei City Government Secretariat Director Lee Sush-der(
"We have to [first find out what is going on] ... How can we explain the matter when we don't understand the situation?" Lee said.
Yu Wen (
After Yu admitted what he had done, the city government spent two days searching for the bogus receipts and found between 80 and 90 of them, amounting to around NT$80,000, amid some 3,754 receipts, totaling around NT$141,000, in the basement on Nov. 11.
Arguing that the city government had not come clean immediately because Ma had not returned from his trip to Paris until last Saturday, Lee urged the public to wait for the results of the official investigation before making any judgment.
"What really matters is whether or not anyone has pocketed the money. So far the city government has found no evidence [to suggest this was the case] ... Let's wait for the results of the investigation," Lee said.
In response to the DPP questioning Ma's claim that he spent some of the fund on rewards and gifts for staff members, the city government released last month's reward list late on Wednesday night.
According to the reward list, a total of NT$89,500 was used to reward 18 staffers, including Ma's secretaries, drivers and bodyguards. Each received about NT$5,000 on average.
Government regulations state that the mayor need submit receipts for only half of his NT$340,000 monthly allowance.
Of the NT$170,000 portion of the allowance for which receipts are required, about NT$80,000 was usually used to reward staff members and the remaining NT$90,000 was spent on matters of public affairs, Lee said.
Ma also used the fund to pay for the breakfasts of his bodyguards and drivers, who usually picked him up early in the morning, Lee added.
When asked to release copies of the receipts, Lee refused and told members of the media not to try to act as investigators.
Sun Cheng-ni (
After first playing hide-and-seek with the media, Sun told the press that she had helped to purchase certain items necessary for the operation of the mayor's office and had submitted the receipts to Yu for reimbursement.
"I didn't know anything about Yu switching the receipts with personal ones," she said.
Ma refused to comment on the matter yesterday, saying that he had appointed Lee to act as his spokesperson on the matter from now on.
"The case is under investigation and I won't comment any further on it," he said.
KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (
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