The Penghu County section head of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) was detained yesterday evening on corruption charges, ministry officials said last night.
Chen Chi-yuan (陳麒元) has been accused of taking bribes from families of prisoners and detained suspects upon the reports of a whistle-blower.
MJIB officials formed a task force in collaboration with the Agency Against Corruption and Kaohsiung prosecutors to investigate the accusations.
Taipei Times file photo
The allegations date back to when Chen served as an MJIB investigator in Chiayi City.
Chen has been removed from his position while an investigation into the matter continues, MJIB Director Wang Chun-li (王俊力) said yesterday.
“The MJIB does not permit officer misconduct, and those who have engaged in unlawful actions will be punished without leniency,” Wang said.
“We demand strict discipline from our officers to comply with the law, as they serve as examples for society at large,” he said.
Kaohsiung prosecutors and corruption agency investigators have reportedly found evidence that Chen received up to NT$200,000 in bribes from 2019 to 2021 when he served in Chiayi City.
Chen allegedly took bribes in exchange for granting advantages to inmates and their lawyers, investigators said.
Favors Chen allegedly gave included temporary leave to meet with spouses and children, and to make telephone calls to deal with personal matters, investigators said.
Chen took advantage of his responsibility to ensure that inmates are properly detained and escorted to trial hearings.
Investigators said the alleged actions breached the Regulations Governing the Transfer of Prisoners (監獄受刑人移監作業辦法), while the bribery allegations could be prosecuted under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
After overnight questioning by the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung, Chen was detained and held incommunicado, while two other suspects surnamed Chen (陳) and Chiang (江) were remanded into custody, officials said.
Additional reporting by Chien Li-chung
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS