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Overpass scandal widens with raids
By Mo Yan-chih and Rich Chang / Staff
Reporters
Investigators yesterday searched the offices of Taipei City Secretariat Director
Yang Hsi-an (楊錫安) and the Department of New Construction as an investigation
into a scandal surrounding the Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project widened.
Led by prosecutors, Investigation Bureau officials raided a total of 11
locations, including the residence of a new construction department official
surnamed Shih, the offices of Join Engineering Consultants (昭凌工程顧問公司), Kung Sing
Engineering Corp (工信工程公司), Evergreen Construction Corp (長鴻營造公司), Hwang Chang
General Contractor (皇昌營造公司) and the residences of officials associated with the
construction companies.
Aside from his office, Yang’s two residences in Taipei were also raided.
Yang is the most senior Taipei City official to have been investigated so far,
sparking media speculation that, as he is in charge of Taipei Mayor Hau
Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) official affairs, Hau was likely to be the next target of
investigators.
Prosecutors said they seized a number of documents in the search, but did not
intend to summon anyone for questioning.
This was the second round of searches targeting the city government and the
construction companies since the scandal broke last month.
Asked about the raids, Hau said: “The case is under investigation and I respect
the justice system.”
“We hope prosecutors will find out the truth as soon as possible,” Hau said at
Taipei City Hall.
The probe into the scandal began last month, with the new construction
department’s former director, Huang Hsi-hsun (黃錫薰), and a former section chief,
Chen Chih-sheng (陳智盛), being detained for their alleged involvement.
Yesterday’s raids were prompted by prosecutors’ suspicions that top city
government officials were involved in the case after they discovered that Chen
was in possession of notes from the city’s Secretariat Office.
One note, which asked Chen to rephrase his comments on accusations that the city
government overpaid for plants for the reconstruction project from “simple
negligence” to “administrative negligence,” was part of the body of evidence
prosecutors have collected in probing the scandal. After they discovered the
note, the prosecutors suspected that top officials from the city government were
involved in the case.
In related news, the city government yesterday said that the results of its
internal investigation showed that no officials were involved in bribery or
other illegal acts relating to allegations of kickbacks from overpriced flowers
and plants purchased for the Taipei International Flora Expo.
The report, conducted by a task force formed last month by the city government
to look into the disputed purchase prices for flowers for the expo and the
NT$1.3 billion (US$41.4 million) Xinsheng Overpass reconstruction project, said
the expo paid more than market price for some flowers because of maintenance and
design fees.
Yang Shih-chin (楊石金), head of the city’s Department of Government Ethics, said
that of 1,370 flowers and plants used in the expo, more than 130 were found to
cost more than market price because they included charges for maintaining the
plants.
Asked to comment on the credibility of the report, Hau said the task force also
included experts from outside the city government and that the city government
said members of the public were welcome to examine the report.
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