The High Administrative Court in Taipei on Friday dismissed the appeal of a pharmaceutical company, judging that the firm used political connections to obtain 260 government contracts worth NT$60.98 million (US$1.93 million at current exchange rates), with the procurement deals fronted by former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) elder sister, Ma Yi-nan (馬以南).
The court upheld a NT$20 million fine against Taipei-based China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co (中化製藥, CCPC) for violating the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflict of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法). The decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Documents indicate Ma Yi-nan served as CCPC’s deputy general manager from April 2001 to May 2008.
Ma Ying-jeou was Taipei mayor from 1998 to 2006.
According to the court’s statement, from October 2001 through December 2004 CCPC was able to secure 260 public tender contracts, involving the procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical goods worth NT$60.98 million for two major hospitals under the purview of the Taipei City Government.
Media reports at the time alleged Ma Yi-nan was mainly responsible for CCPC winning the contracts, by using her influence to lobby officials, and receiving inside information about the public contracts.
Some reports said “Ma Yi-nan acted as the guardian angel for CCPC” and made use of her political contacts as she had previously served on the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) central standing committee and her brother was the mayor.
The judicial probe into CCPC concluded that because Ma Yi-nan and Ma Ying-jeou were immediate family members, the CCPC should have refrained from bidding for public tenders which involved hospitals under the purview of Ma ying-jeou’s city administration.
An earlier administrative court ruling found CCPC guilty of influence peddling and violations of the law regulating public sector conflict of interest, and imposed a fine of NT$40.61 million on the firm.
CCPC appealed the ruling and managed to have the fine reduced to NT$20 million.
The case has been dragging on for seven years, which legal experts have said is much longer than similar cases.
Critics have said that Ma Ying-jeou, as president, put pressure on the justice system to delay the judicial proceedings.
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