Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and legal experts yesterday demanded tougher laws and punishments for fraud that affects national security.
The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology on Wednesday denied that national security was compromised after Mirror Media magazine reported that two local contractors, Onsen Taiwan Cosmetics Corp (昂神國際) and Burnaby Light Technology Corp (勳章科技), which were involved in the production of indigenous Tien Kung (“Sky Bow”) missiles, had for their own gain allegedly used inferior silicone rectifiers sourced from China in its ignition systems.
“The contractors allegedly made illegal profits of more than NT$100 million [US$3.59 million], by using poor-quality and inexpensive Chinese-made components in place of specified parts for Sky Bow missiles. This severely undermined our national security,” said attorney Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), who is also director of the Taiwan Forever Association.
Photo: Lo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
“The legal offenses would likely only be fraud and forgery with a five-year prison sentence or less,” Huang said. “Such a penalty does not match the severity of the crime and its effect on military defense security.”
Huang said that legislators should amend the National Security Act (國家安全法) to create tougher sentences for criminal misconduct involving military procurement programs.
Under the act, the law is contravened when contractors are found receiving instructions from Chinese agents, then passing those instructions to Taiwanese government or military officials, he said.
“However, prosecutors have difficulty tracing and uncovering such evidence,” he added.
DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said that public opinion supports greater punishments for fraud or corruption in military procurement that damages national security.
Tsai suggested legal amendments that impose an additional 50 percent on the sentencing handed down from a judge, as is done with contraventions of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法).
“Military procurement is administered under the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法), which does not allow imposition of stronger punishments,” he said.
DPP Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that the Chungshan institute is managed by the Minsitry of National Defense for research and production of advanced indigenous-made weapons, which is different from incorporated institutes that focus on education and culture.
“Applying regular laws on government procurement is insufficient to deter corruption and fraud within military and national security areas,” he said.
Lo also accused the institute of negligence and dereliction of duty.
“Regarding the Sky Bow missile incident, the critical phase was in examining and testing the product. Institute officials should have prevention measures and stricter oversight mechanisms to determine whether the components originated in China,” he said.
The institute should do more to deter fraud, graft and forgery, Lo added.
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