Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Lyu-hsun (沈呂巡) yesterday demanded a new investigation into a scandal in which he was accused of swindling more than NT$4 million (US$123,000) in government funds by falsely reporting rental expenses during his post in Geneva.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said the case could be reopened to examine whether there were any procedural flaws, but Shen would have to first file an appeal.
The career diplomat of three decades told reporters the allegations had damaged his reputation and ruined his aging father’s health, who, he said, suffered a stroke upon hearing the news.
Shen was slapped with a demerit on the eve of last year’s presidential election when it was discovered that the Geneva representative office was smaller than reported and Shen, who headed the mission, had paid more than NT$4 million too much in office rent for the four years since 2004.
IN CAHOOTS
Some reporters and pan-green legislators accused Shen of being in cahoots with the office space’s landlord, but he vehemently denied the allegations.
He said that not only did he not pocket any money, but he single-handedly convinced the landlord to hand back the extra money and reduce the rent by 20 percent.
“I was the one that reported the discrepancy to the ministry,” he said in his defense.
LEAKED
When asked who he thought might have leaked the story and if it reflected political infighting within the ministry, Shen said he had an idea who the person was, but that the man had left MOFA for another government department.
“It is someone that does not want me to come back,” he said, without elaborating.
Shen said he hoped a new investigation could be launched to look into the matter because he was not given an adequate chance to explain his side of the story when the ministry conducted its internal disciplinary review of the case.
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