Prosecutors yesterday indicted Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi and his chief secretary, Yen Hsin-chang (顏新章), on charges of tax evasion and perjury relating to a financial dispute over the Promised Land Resort & Lagoon project, in which Fu allegedly made a profit of more than NT$166.7 million (US$5.49 million).
Fu, an independent, is closely aligned with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and was a member of the People First Party from 2000 to 2007.
The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office said that Fu and Yen used political pressure and threats to force Liang Ching-cheng (梁清政), the project’s original proprietor, to sell a 66.1-hectare plot of land in the county’s in Shoufong Township (壽豐) below its market price to Taipei-based Rong Liang Real Estate (榮亮實業), which in turn sold it to another property developer and made a profit of NT$166.7 million, Hualien County head prosecutor Kuo Yu-fang (郭瑜芳) said.
Photo: CNA
The real-estate company failed to report the actual amount of the transaction, and Fu and Yen made false statements to judicial officers investigating the case, Kuo said.
Prosecutors said that Fu is the real owner of Rong Liang Real Estate, which was founded in 2006, and his wife, KMT Legislator Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), previously served as company chairwoman.
The company’s initial capital came from Hsu’s family, along with financial backing from Fu.
“Fu was found to be the owner of Rong Liang Real Estate and the man who directed its business and made the major decisions. The company’s financial accounting and money transfers were directed by Fu or members of his family, while the paperwork was handled by Fu’s assistants and county government staff,” Kuo said.
“During the investigation, Fu gave false statements in an attempt to hide the fact that he is the company owner. During last year’s court hearing, Fu denied he was the owner of the company. Therefore, along with tax evasion charges, Fu is being indicted on perjury charges,” Kuo said.
As for charges Liang had filed, Hualien prosecutors in September last year dropped the corruption charges against Fu, citing insufficient evidence, but pressed tax evasion charges against Pao Kuang-ting (鮑廣廷), the man registered as the owner of Rong Liang Real Estate.
Liang filed an appeal, with the Hualien branch of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office ordering Hualien district prosecutors to conduct another investigation, which resulted in yesterday’s indictments.
Fu called the charges “political persecution.”
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS