Prosecutors have filed formal charges against KMT legislator Kuo Ting-tsai (
Fan Wen-chin (
Kuo, along with Hsu Shu-chin (許淑卿), the credit co-op's director, and 10 others have been indicted on charges of breach of trust, fraud and falsifying securities certifi-cates.
PHOTO: LIBERTY TIMES
Fan stated that the evidence gathered by his staff shows that Kuo played a major role in the bank scandal.
He said Kuo and Hsu used their positions at the head of the co-op to instruct accountants to falsify account books and certificates of deposit in order to embezzle NT$2.3 billion from an agricultural firm and a local bank whose funds were deposited in the co-op.
Summonses have been issued for others involved in the scandal, with bail for the suspects set between NT$50,000 and NT$100,000.
Kuo, meanwhile, showed up at the Legislative Yuan early yesterday to register for the new legislative session. Kuo previously failed to appear in court after being issued two summonses.
He later disappeared, leading the court to issue a warrant for his arrest on Aug. 26. Kuo's position as a legislator grants him immunity from arrest and detention while the lawmaking body is in session, unless the Legislative Yuan voids this privilege.
Kuo claimed he had not received either of the two summonses issued by the Pingtung County Prosecu-tors' Office (
He repeatedly told reporters he had not tried to evade the summonses, and stated he would appear at the Pingtung County Prosecutors' Office within the next few days.
Kuo, who has recently undergone a minor surgical procedure, looked pale and tired. The left side of his face was still paralyzed from the operation, adding to his haggard appearance.
"The Ministry of Finance should bear part of the responsibility for the scandal in Tungkang," Kuo said. "I'm only nominally responsible. Most of my time is spent in the legislature. They're the experts -- if they can't get to the bottom of all the problems, how do they expect me to figure things out?
"If prosecutors are going to indict me, that's fine. I would never advise anyone not to take legal action against me," he said.
Kuo also claimed that he was not involved in any wrongdoing at the bank. "If I had embezzled money from the cooperative, I wouldn't need to put up my own property as collateral for loans. I could save the money on interest, and wouldn't have to run around trying to repay all these loans," he said.
Kuo is a long-time member of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan, and registered with the committee this morning.
When asked whether he would use his committee position to press his case with officials of the Central Deposit Insurance Corp (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS