Investigators yesterday questioned four Hsinchu City Government officials over allegations that they had given illegal benefits to a contractor that last year worked on soil analysis at Hsinchu Baseball Stadium.
Tien Cheng-hung (田政弘), an office secretary for suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), was released on bail of NT$50,000 (US$1,555) after being questioned by prosecutors and Ministry of Justice Agency Against Corruption personnel. Tien is one of four suspects in the case.
A Hsinchu Education Department official surnamed Huang (黃) and a section chief surnamed Lin (林), who were in charge of the city’s sports venues, were released on bail of NT$30,000 each, while Hsinchu Sports and Health Education section staff member was released without bail.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
All four face charges of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), prosecutors said.
A NT$1.76 million contract to conduct an analysis of soil samples from the stadium went to Bros Sports Marketing Co after Kao became mayor in 2022.
Kao and other city officials said that the stadium had numerous issues, including an unfinished surface, metal and foreign objects in the subsoil, faulty drainage and other safety concerns.
Kao blamed former Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), who allocated NT$870 million to repair and modernize the ballpark, with the work scheduled to be completed in 2022.
Tien and the Education Department were in charge of the tender to analyze seven soil samples after US experts specializing in ballpark soil and drainage issues were consulted, prosecutors said.
The samples were given to Bros Sports Marketing to store.
Hsinchu City Council members alleged a conflict of interest and graft, accusing Tien and other city officials of illegally benefiting the company.
Kao was suspended as mayor when the Taipei District Court in July convicted her on corruption charges from her time as a Taiwan People’s Party lawmaker from 2020 to 2022.
In other news, the Taipei District Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by two suspects seeking release amid an investigation into the Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Taipei.
Former Dingyue Development Corp president Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎) and Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), director-general of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) office, posed a flight risk, and might collude and tamper with evidence in the probe, the court said.
The decision means Chu and Lee would be held with restricted communications until a trial over allegations that Core Pacific Group executives lobbied Taipei City Government officials to increase the floor area ratio to gain financial benefits for a development project in 2020.
Additional reporting by Huang Mei-chu and Yang Kuo-wen
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