MOI Vice Minister Detained, Resigns

Chewycorns · July 21, 2006, 12:47am

The most senior appointment to date to be caught up in a corruption probe. This ministry, by the way, controls the FAP. He is from the DPP’s New Tide faction.

Old_Gringo · July 21, 2006, 2:28am

It is perhaps not correct to say the MOI “controls” in any meaningful sense the FAP. The ministries have a long standing policy to “leave sleeping cops lie”. The unspoken but very real “gentleman’s agreement” is the politicos and the government apointees leave the cops alone and in turn the cops leave the other groups alone.

Laying that minor semantics issue aside, the Old Gringo is always glad to see a politico in the dock.

Chewycorns · July 21, 2006, 2:53am

Some additional information on the story:

China Post:

Vice Interior Minister Yen Wan-chin yesterday became the latest senior government and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official detained for alleged scam. Premier Su Tseng-chang has accepted his resignation. The ruling party’s anti-corruption committee plans to take disciplinary action against Yen.

Government Information Office chief and Cabinet spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan said Premier Su was shocked but has accepted the resignation tendered by Yen so that he may make full preparations to defend himself during the judicial proceedings.

Yen’s resignation was presented to Su on Yen’s behalf by Interior Minister Lee Yi-yang, who also expressed his shock over the legal trouble faced by his deputy.

The Taipei District Court accepted late Wednesday night a request from the prosecutors to detain Yen and four other suspects on charges of graft and profiteering over the proposed construction of a cable car system in the hilly area of Taipei’s suburb of Peitou and the Yangmingshan National Park.

Peitou and the park are resort retreats known for their sceneries and hot springs.

Court officials said Yen and four other suspects, including Tsai Pai-lu, who just retired as chief of the Yangmingshan National Park Administration, were held incommunicado.

Other detainees included secretary Tsai Ming-tien and technician Hsu Kuo-jung at the administration, and retired physician Li Kuo-shu.

The fifth suspect, property developer and

Rich Development Co. chairman Kuo Chuan-ching, was released after questioning.

Rich Development is a publicly traded firm on the over-the-counter stock market.

Yen and Tsai were allegedly playing the role of facilitating the acquisition of construction license or revising the construction and development requirements to benefit the developer awarded with the contracts to build the cable car system with the NT$2.9 billion BOT (build, operate, transfer) format.

In addition to offering between NT$500,000 and over NT$1 million to the officials, the contractors and subcontractors also treated the officials to feasts and drinks, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors made the move after raiding the offices and homes of the suspects. They summoned Yen and 13 other suspects allegedly involved in the scam for questioning.

But the Taipei Prosecutors Office took the swift action on its own without soliciting assistance from the Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Justice for fearing possible leak of sensitive information.

The judicial and Investigation organizations in Taiwan have come under mounting pressure as the majority of people in Taiwan think they are not doing the job of fighting corruption and conducting fair probe into scams as required by taxpayers.

Legislator and DPP spokesman Tsai Huang-lang said that if Yen is found to have committed any wrongdoing, the DPP’s central executive committee will fire him at the earliest possible time.

“All DPP officials must demonstrate integrity as the party requires them to maintain the highest moral and ethical standards. The DPP will never be lenient toward any party officials that are suspected of involvement in corruption cases,” he stressed.

Yen, 41, is widely seen as a young rising political star in the DPP. He was actively engaged in political movements when studying at university.

He later held several key positions, including director of Mainland Affairs Department and deputy secretary general of the DPP. He was regarded as a member of the New Tide, a faction in the DPP.

Yen was appointed as the vice interior minister only six months ago. He was the third DPP official to quit the same post in one and a half years.

chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/deta … 6285&GRP=B

mr_boogie · July 21, 2006, 6:31am

2.999 to go…

and another one bites the dust…

I really hope that more and more DPP/TSU/KMT/PFP guys will go to jail for corruption. Hell you can even take half of the legislature for attempt against public order…

TainanCowboy · July 21, 2006, 8:28am

2 Q’s:

Are the cable cars and the en-route entertainment sites going ahead with construction?

Will this guy flee the country? (and to where?)

Mother_Theresa · July 21, 2006, 10:25am

Yes, taking bribes is wrong. Yes, it’s horrible when elected officials make arbitrary and wrong decisions based on personal greed and corruption rather than their constituents’ best interests. Yes, it may even be a little scary that some incompetent firm is building cable cars for the government. But this is hardly another Lafayette Frigate scandal, at least in terms of dollars.

[quote]In addition to offering between NT$500,000 and over NT$1 million to the officials, the contractors and subcontractors also treated the officials to feasts and drinks, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors made the move after raiding the offices and homes of the suspects. They summoned Yen and 13 other suspects allegedly involved in the scam for questioning. [/quote]

NT$1 million = US$30,769 / 14 suspects = US $2,197 each (plus meals and drinks)

Bunch of cheap looooosers. :raspberry:

mr_boogie · July 21, 2006, 10:34am

yeap

I wonder why they even did it? Don’t they get a lot more money from the good sallaries that they will loose now?

If it was for a Million USD I would think that they had a plausible reason, but for 1M NTD…

Chewycorns · July 21, 2006, 11:03am

[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Yes, taking bribes is wrong. Yes, it’s horrible when elected officials make arbitrary and wrong decisions based on personal greed and corruption rather than their constituents’ best interests. Yes, it may even be a little scary that some incompetent firm is building cable cars for the government. But this is hardly another Lafayette Frigate scandal, at least in terms of dollars.

[quote]In addition to offering between NT$500,000 and over NT$1 million to the officials, the contractors and subcontractors also treated the officials to feasts and drinks, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors made the move after raiding the offices and homes of the suspects. They summoned Yen and 13 other suspects allegedly involved in the scam for questioning. [/quote]

NT$1 million = US$30,769 / 14 suspects = US $2,197 each (plus meals and drinks)

Bunch of cheap looooosers. :raspberry:[/quote]

If that is the case, that is absolutely moronic. I think a Deputy Minister makes around 150,000NT to 250,000NT per month, if not slightly more. To get involved with bribes for a fraction of your monthly salary — what a fucking amateur!!! Shame on him for being dirty and for being stupid as well.

mr_boogie · July 21, 2006, 2:03pm

on the other way, prosecuters might be jealous because nobody invites them…

QAM · July 22, 2006, 7:59pm

Well even the KMT was getting witch-hunted for campaign gifts of more than the rediculously low minimum. I wonder if there would be less bribery if some tolerance for it were built into the system in the form of fines-only sentences for guilty pleas in cases of under NT$1 million. In the business world it’s called a brokerage fee, but in government, corruption. Oh yeah, politicians are in it to serve the people. They don’t have to send their kids to a good college.
It’s like Halliburten in Iraq. Everyone is up in arms that there is a profit to be made from nation-building. Duh!