Authorities yesterday questioned the owner, his son and executives of a telecommunications services company at the center of a corruption scandal in Taipei over alleged insider trading.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office questioned Tai Tung Communication Co (台通光電) employees and executives — including its owner, Lee Ching-huang (李慶煌), and his son, Lee Chia-hao (李嘉豪), who was placed in pretrial detention with restricted communication.
The New Taipei City-based firm is the parent company of Taiwan Intelligent Fiber Optic Network Consortium (Taifo, 台灣智慧光網), which investigators last month accused of providing kickbacks to Taipei City Councilor Chen Chung-wen (陳重文) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) related to a city government project to install police surveillance systems and provide networking and data transmission services.
Photo: CNA
Yesterday, Agency Against Corruption units and Taipei prosecutors searched nine Tai Tung offices and employee residences, while serving summonses to executives related to alleged insider trading that led to profits of about NT$100 million (US$3.07 million), prosecutors said.
The agency and prosecutors alleged that Tai Tung, a publicly listed company on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, had announced a stock buyback on March 8, but that Lee Ching-huang, members of his family and some employees had prior knowledge of the deal, enabing them to purchase stock ahead of time.
A bail court hearing approved the pretrial detention of Lee Chia-hao, who holds the title of special assistant to the owner.
Prosecutors listed him as facing possible charges for contravening the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法) and requested that he be detained due to the possibility of collusion and tampering with evidence, a bail court hearing filing said.
Lee Ching-huang’s wife, Hsieh Yen-chun (謝燕春), was released on NT$3 million bail, while his ex-wives, surnamed Huang (黃) and Lee (李), were released on bail of NT$3.5 million and NT$2 million respectively. A company executive surnamed Shih (石) was released on NT$500,000 bail, while Lee Ching-huang was released without posting bail.
The Agency Against Corruption said that the investigation into insider trading stemmed from an earlier probe into reported corruption and kickbacks at Taifo, which had secured a NT$550 million contract with the Taipei City Government to supply police surveillance systems and networking and data transmission services.
An investigation found evidence that Chen had questioned officials and allegedly pressured the government to approve a higher budget for the contract with Taifo, whose chairman is Lee Ching-huang.
Investigators said that several million dollars in alleged kickbacks had flowed to accounts controlled by Chen.
The agency and prosecutors on March 14 initiated searches related to that investigation, detaining and questioning Chen and Lee Ching-huang in the process, along with other suspects.
Chen was detained as telephone records indicated he had called witnesses in an attempt to collude with them, while Lee Chiang-huang was released on a NT$3.5 million bill, prosecutors said.
The alleged insider trading activity was found while examining money flows and bank transactions in that case, prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by CNA
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition