Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Risk Management section inspector Chen Wen-hsiung (陳文雄) and 17 other people including pharmaceutical company owners, questioned on Wednesday by the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office as part of a corruption probe, were released on bail yesterday morning.
Chen, 50, was accused of violating provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Prosecutors charged Chen with bribery, leaking confidential information, forgery and other charges before his release after posting NT$500,000 (US$15,745) bail yesterday.
The other people involved in the probe, including Chen’s wife, were also released, with bail set at NT$200,000 each.
Photo: Chen Wei-tzu, Taipei Times
The companies ensnared in the probe reportedly include Genuine Chemical Pharmaceutical Co (人人化學製藥), CBC Biotechnological & Pharmaceutical Co (中生生技), Wei Li Pharmaceutical Co (中生威力化學), Paitun Biochemical Pharmacy Co (派頓化學製藥), Dersan Pharmaceutical Co (德山藥廠) and Kuang Nan Pharmaceutical Co (光南製藥).
Chen allegedly made at least NT$5 million in the past two years by providing the time and date of “unannounced” FDA inspections to proprietors in exchange for money.
He also allegedly helped products pass inspections and ensured they would receive their Good Manufacturing Practice and other certifications.
For his “services” and inside information Chen allegedly asked each company for about NT$1 million.
Prosecutors said they collaborated with the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption to place Chen under surveillance for more than a year after receiving a tip-off.
The investigation reportedly found that when Chen planned inspections of pharmaceutical companies he would allegedly give instructions to the owners on how to deposit the alleged bribes. He would hold meeting’s in coffee shops or receive gifts containing money.
Chen’s wife would allegedly then deposit the money in various bank accounts.
National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance (民間監督健保聯盟) spokeswoman Eva Teng (滕西華) said that the bribery scheme is likely large scale.
“It would seem incredulous for just one FDA inspector to able to shield the companies from proper checks and monitoring. The scandal clearly shows poor management and negligence by the FDA.”
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to