KMT Legislator Kuo Ting-tsai (
Kuo, who was chairman of the Tungkang Credit Cooperative (
Kuo, 63, was found to have instructed the cooperative's staff to doctor account books and forge certificates of deposit, and to have removed NT$2.3 billion from the cooperative since April 1996.
The court found that Kuo then diverted the money to the Fahua Securities Investment Trust Co, where he served as chairman between May 1996 and January 1997, to invest in the stock market. But the company itself was also a victim as Kuo had tampered with the company's certificates of deposit and used them to borrow money from the Tungkang cooperative during the period.
The court found that after his departure from the company, Kuo's son, Kuo Chia-cheng (
The scandal came to light last July when investigators at the Central Deposit Insurance Corp (
Following disclosure of the scandal last year, the Tangkang co-operative became victim of a bank run when many of its customers withdrew their funds, and was taken over by the Bank of Taiwan.
The Kuos, along with Hsu Shu-chin (
During the investigations, Kuo went into hiding to dodge questioning by prosecutors between legislative sessions. When the session began, he used legislators' immunity from arrest to protect himself from prosecutors.
During the trial, the legislator did not answer the court's summons until his son was ordered to be detained by the district court.
The district court sentenced Kuo to 12 years yesterday, while his son was sentenced to one year and two months. The cooperative's chief accountant was given 11 years and 10 months and another eight of the cooperative's accountants were given sentences ranging from one year to five years.
Kuo and the others can appeal to a higher court and his legislative office will not be affected until his conviction is confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Apart from embezzlement, the KMT legislator is also being tried for a land-rezoning case, in which he has been accused of graft when he was a member of the Pingtung County Urban Planning Committee between 1989 and 1992.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS