Former Nantou County commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Nantou District Court yesterday.
The court also found Lee’s brother-in-law, Chien Jui-chi (簡瑞祺), guilty of distributing illicit funds and sentenced him to 22 years in prison.
The ruling, which concluded a more than two-year-long judicial probe, saw Lee and Chien convicted of graft, receiving kickbacks and bid-rigging from 2008 to 2012, when Lee was head of the Nantou County Government.
Photo: Chen Feng-li, Taipei Times
There were also guilty verdicts for 13 other county government officials and business associates involved in the corruption scandal, who were given terms ranging from three months to six years, some with suspended sentences, for benefiting from illicit funds.
Yesterday’s court decision was the first ruling and can be appealed.
Lee’s lawyer said he was surprised by the court’s verdict and heavy sentencing, adding that he would file an appeal.
According to the ruling, Lee was found to have received at least NT$31.73 million (US$967,083) from contractors and business companies in bribes and kickbacks related to 111 projects, involving road construction, bridge repair and county government-initiated public infrastructure construction and upgrade works throughout Nantou County.
The ruling said that the county’s mountainous regions suffered major damage to roads and bridges after landslides and flooding during storms and periods of heavy rain, adding that Lee, as head of the county government, did not apply for repair and construction projects, but instead siphoned off money and made illegal gains from such projects.
The court said it handed out heavy punishments because Lee did not admit his involvement, instructing other defendants to make denials and fabricate information.
At the time of indictment in 2013, prosecutors said Lee was suspected of receiving kickbacks of between 10 percent and 15 percent from almost every county government project since assuming office in 2008.
The judicial probe found other county government officials colluded with Lee and Chien by forging documents and initiating bid-rigging practices for designated contractors to secure tender bids, while also receiving bribes and kickbacks.
Among the officials were Lee’s former secretary Chang Chih-yi (張志誼) and two former Nantou County Department of Public Works heads, Tseng Jen-lung (曾仁隆) and Huang Jung-te (黃榮德).
Tseng was given a six-year sentence, while Chang and Huang received suspended sentences, as both admitted their roles in the corruption scandal and co-operated with prosecutors during the judicial probe.
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
Intelligence agents have recorded 510,000 instances of “controversial information” being spread online by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so far this year, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report yesterday, as it warned of artificial intelligence (AI) being employed to generate destabilizing misinformation. The bureau submitted a written report to the Legislative Yuan in preparation for National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today. The CCP has been using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society by commenting on controversial issues such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investments in the
RSS