The Taipei City Government yesterday denied allegations that it had attempted to cover up the maladministration of the mayoral allowance fund.
It also dismissed allegations that more than one staffer was involved in the controversy.
City government officials said on Tuesday that after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators including Hsieh Hsin-ni (
Asked why the city government had not made the findings of its investigation public until Tuesday night, Taipei City Government Secretariat Director Lee Sush-der(
"We have to [first find out what is going on] ... How can we explain the matter when we don't understand the situation?" Lee said.
Yu Wen (
After Yu admitted what he had done, the city government spent two days searching for the bogus receipts and found between 80 and 90 of them, amounting to around NT$80,000, amid some 3,754 receipts, totaling around NT$141,000, in the basement on Nov. 11.
Arguing that the city government had not come clean immediately because Ma had not returned from his trip to Paris until last Saturday, Lee urged the public to wait for the results of the official investigation before making any judgment.
"What really matters is whether or not anyone has pocketed the money. So far the city government has found no evidence [to suggest this was the case] ... Let's wait for the results of the investigation," Lee said.
In response to the DPP questioning Ma's claim that he spent some of the fund on rewards and gifts for staff members, the city government released last month's reward list late on Wednesday night.
According to the reward list, a total of NT$89,500 was used to reward 18 staffers, including Ma's secretaries, drivers and bodyguards. Each received about NT$5,000 on average.
Government regulations state that the mayor need submit receipts for only half of his NT$340,000 monthly allowance.
Of the NT$170,000 portion of the allowance for which receipts are required, about NT$80,000 was usually used to reward staff members and the remaining NT$90,000 was spent on matters of public affairs, Lee said.
Ma also used the fund to pay for the breakfasts of his bodyguards and drivers, who usually picked him up early in the morning, Lee added.
When asked to release copies of the receipts, Lee refused and told members of the media not to try to act as investigators.
Sun Cheng-ni (
After first playing hide-and-seek with the media, Sun told the press that she had helped to purchase certain items necessary for the operation of the mayor's office and had submitted the receipts to Yu for reimbursement.
"I didn't know anything about Yu switching the receipts with personal ones," she said.
Ma refused to comment on the matter yesterday, saying that he had appointed Lee to act as his spokesperson on the matter from now on.
"The case is under investigation and I won't comment any further on it," he said.
KMT Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS