The Hualien District Court yesterday night approved a request by prosecutors to detain Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Wu Jin-yi (吳勁毅) and a section chief for two months over alleged corruption in favoring bidders in public tenders.
Wu and Tseng Chun-hsiang (曾俊翔), chief of the bureau's Administrative and Cultural Facilities Division, were suspected of seeking to gain illegal benefits by misusing public power, the court said, citing evidence collected by the prosecutors.
The court said the alleged offenses carry a minimum sentence of more than five years and it is believed there would be a risk that the two suspects could collude with others to tamper with evidence.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
The court ruled that the two are to be detained and held incommunicado.
The Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau allowed operators to run Jiang Jun Fu 1936, a tourist attraction in Hualien, despite some of the facilities not complying with regulations, prosecutors said.
Wu made duplicate claims for small purchases that involved a religious ceremony performed to “drive out” ghosts, making illegal gains of more than NT$5 million (US$170,000), prosecutors said.
Wu was also found to have more than NT$10 million in his account that he failed to provide a reasonable excuse for having, they said.
This is to be investigated in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), prosecutors said.
He also used an official vehicle for personal purposes, they said.
Yesterday, searches were also carried out at 16 locations, including county government offices, Wu's residence and government dormitories, while a total of 10 people, including Wu and related witnesses, were notified and summoned to give statements.
Five people were released on bail ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$50,000, while three people were released without bail, prosecutors said.
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