Taipei prosecutors questioned two military officers and Remotek Corp executives in an investigation of alleged bid rigging and illegal profiteering involving the Ministry of National Defense’s procurement of biological reconnaissance vehicles.
Taipei prosecutors carried out searches at 12 locations on Thursday and detained several people for questioning. As of yesterday evening, a Taipei court had approved a request to detain retired colonel Wu Ming-lang (吳明郎), while army major Chiu Ya-tzu (邱雅姿) was released on bail of NT$400,000 (US$14,336).
The two are to face charges on breaches of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例), prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, Remotek chairman Chen Ming-hung (陳銘宏) and manager Chiang Li-yu (江立裕) were released on bail of NT$300,000 each, and head of research Shen Hsun-tsan (沈勳燦) on NT$150,000 bail. Three other Remotek staff involved in the procurement project were released on bail of NT$200,000 to NT$300,000.
The case stemmed from the MND’s procurement in 2015 of 13 biological reconnaissance vehicles for a reported NT$940 million, which the New Taipei City-based Remotek won with a NT$750 million bid.
Documents indicate that Remotek had the lowest bid and was awarded the contract over two competitors — electronics and home-appliance giant Tatung Co, with its submission at NT$880 million, and Champion Auto Co, a construction machinery and specialized vehicle manufacturer, with its bid at NT$940 million.
Wu, at the time on active service, and Chu were the two military officers based at the Army Command Headquarters in charge of the procurement, and allegations later surfaced that the duo colluded with Remotek to rig the bid, forge documents and illegally profit from the contract.
Prosecutors said that questions were raised about Remotek’s bid at NT$750 million for 13 vehicles, as some experts alleged that it was too low considering the required new technology and advanced instruments required by the tender specification, as the vehicles are used to counter biological warfare and for training drills.
It was alleged the Tac-Bio particle senor that Remotek proposed using cannot detect bacteria and viruses smaller than PM5 (5 micrometer). However, the company in the bid document listed it as capable of detecting biological and particulate matter at between PM2.5 and PM10 with 90 percent accuracy.
Prosecutors allege that Wu and Chiu colluded in bid rigging, not properly verifying submitted bids and modifying specifications to benefit Remotek’s bid, while Remotek executives are accused of allegedly falsifying data on their submission and forging documents to secure the contract.
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