Chiayi County’s Budai Township (布袋) Mayor Chen Feng-mei (陳鳳梅) yesterday said she has not broken a law in her 30 years as a politician and plans to fully comply with an investigation into alleged illegal landfill operations.
The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday searched the Budai Township Office, Chen’s (陳鳳梅) residence and the office of a Chiayi County councilor surnamed Lo (羅) as part of an investigation into an alleged illegal landfill in November last year.
The office on Friday summoned all individuals involved in the case, releasing Chen on NT$100,000 bail, and releasing a Budai Township Office Division of Construction director-general surnamed Fang (方) and a solar power company manager surnamed Hsieh (謝) on NT$50,000 bail each.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Three construction soil disposal business owners surnamed Wang (王), Yang (楊) and Hsieh (謝) dumped leftover construction soil on agricultural land in a fishery as part of their work on a power generation project in Budai in November last year, the prosecutors’ office said.
The three ignored warnings in December last year from the Chiayi County Bureau of Environmental Protection, but allegedly continued to contravene the law as late as February, the office said.
Further investigations led prosecutors to allege that Chen, Lo, Fang and Hsieh were involved in the decisions to dispose of the material, it said.
The office on Friday asked the Chiayi District Court to detain Wang and revoke his rights to visitation, citing the possibility of collusion and destruction of evidence, while Yang is to serve 18 months in prison for a separate offense.
Lo did not respond to the summons and must make an affidavit by tomorrow or be subpoenaed, the prosecutors’ office said.
“I will not stand for anyone to use the fishery and solar power generation project to illegally refill farmland with leftover construction soil,” Chen said.
The township has cooperated with the county government’s efforts and requested that the owners remove the leftover soil from the site, she added.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined
RSS