Prosecutors yesterday indicted a top-ranking aviation police official on corruption charges following an investigation into allegations that a Chinese company used sexual enticements and kickbacks to secure sales of substandard Chinese-made X-ray scanners for use at Taiwanese airports.
In 2014, Sun Yi-ming (孫一鳴), then-chief of the Aviation Police Bureau’s Aviation Security Section, was in charge of a government procurement contract totaling NT$70 million (US$2.18 million at current exchange rates) for 17 X-ray scanners for airport security checks of passengers and luggage.
After their installation, airport security officials took to calling the machines “blind X-ray scanners” after finding that the devices are of substandard quality and performance compared with international brands, prone to breaking down and are frequently unable to detect restricted items.
Investigators found that the machines were made by China-based Nuctech Co (同方威視), which had the parts shipped for assembly and repackaging in Japan to deceive Taiwanese officials, who believed the devices were made in Japan, bypassing a ban on Chinese-made products in procurements of high-tech machines with uses related to national security.
Taoyuan prosecutor Liu Yu-shu (劉玉書) said the investigation indicated that 48-year-old Sun received NT$3.06 million from Nuctech in kickbacks and approved the procurement because he was seduced by a Chinese woman named Li Weilin (李委霖), who was then reportedly Nuctech’s sales manager for Taiwan.
Li, 32, allegedly seduced Sun, despite him being married with children, developing from frequent sexual trysts into a long-term extramarital affair beginning in 2013.
According to travel records, between 2014 and April this year, Li accompanied Sun on holiday trips to Singapore, the UK and various Chinese cities, investigators said, adding that a search of Sun’s residence in May uncovered USB memory sticks containing sex tapes they had produced during their travels.
Officials said the case was a classic case of a “honey trap,” a ploy used by intelligence agencies to entrap a male target with a female agent through the enticement of sex, adding that this case involved industrial espionage with national security implications.
When the case first came to light last year, airport security experts called it a serious breach of national security, as the X-ray scanners are networked and could be remotely controlled by Chinese operators to collect data or be rigged to enable the smuggling of weapons into Taiwan.
Investigators also found an e-mail to Sun written by Li, in which she made various promises to continue their relationship, such as vowing to remain faithful, give her love to Sun, always obey Sun’s commands and unconditionally support his decisions.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have