A Miaoli County mayor and four other people have been formally charged with taking and offering bribes, prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a statement, Miaoli District Prosecutors’ Office said that Tongxiao Township (通霄) Mayor Chen Han-chih (陳漢志), his former secretary Chen Chih-hao (陳志豪), township official Lin Kuo-hua (林國驊) and former adviser to the township office Huang Yen-le (黃晏樂) solicited and took kickbacks from private optoelectronics companies.
In return they promised to award a contract in 2019 to install solar photovoltaic systems in the town.
Photo: Tsai Cheng-min, Taipei Times
Prosecutors also accused Tsai Hung-mao (蔡弘懋), a representative of Rich Energy Co, of offering Chen Han-chih bribes totaling NT$1.07 million (US$38,499) from 2019 to this year.
Chen Han-chih, Chen Chih-hao, Lin and Huang first sought kickbacks from Leadray Energy Co in 2019, but were rebuffed.
Chen Han-chih and Lin then approached Tsai the same year, and Tsai persuaded another firm, Anji Technology Co, to submit a bid for the contract to the township office.
The contract was eventually awarded to Anji Technology and Tsai’s company became a contractor working on the solar panel project.
The prosecutors also alleged that Chen Han-chih and Lin leaked classified project documents to Tsai prior to the opening of the bid.
In September, prosecutors, acting on a tip-off, launched an investigation, which resulted in the detention of Chen Han-chih, Chen Chih-hao and Tsai on Sept. 15.
Tsai was later released, as prosecutors considered it no longer necessary to detain him.
According to Tuesday’s statement, Chen Han-chih has acknowledged receiving kickbacks, while Chen Chih-hao, Huang and Tsai have also confessed.
Following his detention, Chen Han-chih was suspended from his post, and the Miaoli County Government later named township official Chen Yung-hsien (陳永賢) as acting township mayor.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
RSS