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Lin Yi-shih’s accuser
held, questioned
MATTER OF LAW: Lin said that he was willing to
meet with his accuser, but would not respond to DPP accusations, to prevent the
party using the case for political ends
By Rich Chang / Staff reporter
Special Investigation Division
spokesperson Chen Hung-ta speaks at a press conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥), a key suspect in a
case of alleged bribery involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin
Yi-shih (林益世), was detained and questioned by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office
Special Investigation Division (SID) yesterday.
Chen, head of Ti Yung Co (地勇選礦公司), a metal-recycling company, has accused Lin of
accepting a bribe of NT$63 million (US$2.15 million) to help him secure
procurement contracts from China Steel Corp (中鋼) and two of its subsidiaries in
2010, and of asking for a further NT$83 million this year.
Chen, who allegedly went into hiding after the Chinese-language Next Magazine
published his accusation on Wednesday, was arrested on Friday night at a hotel
in Taipei City.
Chen was yesterday named a defendant in the investigation and was released after
being questioned for 12 hours.
Lin on Friday was also named a defendant in the case and is expected to be
summoned for questioning over the next few days.
SID spokesman Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達) told a press conference yesterday that the
agency launched an investigation into the case soon after Next Magazine
published the allegation on Wednesday.
SID prosecutor Tsai-Hung-jen (蔡宏仁) is in charge of the case, Chen Hung-ta said,
adding that Tsai subpoenaed Chen Chi-hsiang to testify as a witness, but when
the notice was delivered to his residence in Greater Kaohsiung, Chen Chi-hsiang
was not at home and appeared to have severed connections with his family and
friends.
It was later discovered that Chen Chi-hsiang had spent the past few days at a
hotel in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義). Tsai and investigators arrested him in
his hotel room at 11pm on Friday, the spokesman said.
According to Chen Hung-ta, Chen Chi-hsiang immediately called three attorneys,
who came to the hotel, and then declined to be questioned until the next day.
A female friend of Chen Chi-hsiang was with him at the hotel and prosecutors
interviewed her as a witness yesterday morning, Chen Hung-ta said, adding that
after considering the degree of Chen Chi-hsiang’s suspected involvement in the
case prosecutors had decided to name him as a defendant.
Chen Chi-hsiang’s wife, who Chen Chi-hsiang said accompanied him to Lin’s
residence to discuss the alleged bribe, was also interviewed as a witness
yesterday, the SID spokesman said.
Separately yesterday, Lin’s lawyer, KMT Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如),
said her client was willing to meet with Chen Chi-hsiang face to face.
“However, Lin will not respond to accusations made by members of the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP). This is not a political issue, it is a legal one. It is
therefore desirable to avoid giving the DPP the opportunity to manipulate it for
its own political ends,” she said.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chin
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