Lin Yi-shih, also a former Cabinet Secretary - General is a long term legislator of K.M.T. MEMBER . It is too ugly in Taiwan History . How would the people of Taiwan believe a politician ?
| Top Taiwan official admits graft |
| By Ann Yu and Adam Tyrsett KuoThe China Post Publication Date : 03-07-2012 |
Taiwan's former Cabinet Secretary-General Lin Yi-shih was taken into custody yesterday after partially confessing to bribery allegations at a 12-hour interrogation session. The Taipei District Court granted prosectuors' demand to detain Lin on the grounds that he was involved in the serious crimes of bribery and spoliation of evidence. Both President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Sean Chen apologised over the implications of Lin's corruption, yesterday. After attending the opening ceremony of the 30th academicians' conference at the Academia Sinica, the president said that there are no grey areas for public servants when it comes to integrity. It is very regrettable that Lin has been implicated in and detained for corruption charges, he added. "We will step up our efforts to rid the government of corruption," Ma said, adding that officials who accept bribes will be indicted and brought to justice; corruption will not and cannot be tolerated. The president emphasised the absolute importance of ethical conduct and moral courage of government officials — “We must learn a lesson from this unfortunate incident.” After making his statement, the president left without taking further questions from the press. At an Executive Yuan press conference held yesterday, Premier Chen expressed his sincere apologies to the public over squandering the people's trust and undermining government honesty. Local reports accused Lin last week of soliciting and obtaining bribes from Chen Chi-hsiang, owner of Ti Young Co. The reports contained a detailed description of Lin's negotiation with Chen. Lin had allegedly requested a bribe of NT$63 million (US$2 million) for helping Chen secure a contract with China Steel Co. (CSC). According to the reports, Lin had asked Chen to pay another NT$83 million (US$2.8 million) for the renewal of the contract. After Chen refused to pay, Lin allegedly blocked Ti Young's slag supply by pressuring China Steel Co. (CSC). In response, Chen took the story to the media. After the allegations were made public, Lin immediately denied all accusations, holding two press conferences to claim his innocence. The interrogation Lin was questioned by the Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosectors' Office for 12 hours on July 1. Prosecutor Tsai-Hung-jen said that he played recordings of Lin provided by Chen. According to Tsai, Lin admitted that it was his voice, but that he also came up with various stories to cover up what was actually going on in the recorded conversation. According to media reports, Chen came forward to the SID with the recordings after he went missing for several days. After a long, gruelling session, the prosecutor said that Lin finally came clean at 4am after a short discussion with his attorneys. Lin was then taken to the Taipei District Court where prosecutors requested to take Lin into custody. His confession provides sufficient evidence to press charges against him, prosecutors said. They also said that Lin had only confessed to parts of the charges, and the confession awaits further verification. After seven hours of deliberation, the court announced at around 10pm that Lin will be held incommunicado for a duration of two months. Lin's attorney, Lai Su-ju, said Lin feels remorseful for hurting his family and for abusing the public's trust. Lin hopes that the people will give him a chance to redeem himself, Lai said. The attorney also expressed astonishment on her Facebook page when reports of Lin's confession were made public yesterday, indicating that she had assumed Lin was innocent the whole time. Premier Chen held a press conference with Vice Premier Jiang Yi-huah yesterday morning, expressing his apologies to the public. He emphasised that the administration's goal to maintain a non-corrupt government has not changed and will not change in the future. In response to the scandal, Premier Chen stated that he has requested the Department of Government Ethics of the Taipei City Government (DOGE) to act immediately on judicial procedures. Observers noted that the bribery scandal might cause a heavy blow to the Ma government, since President Ma Ying-jeou had vowed to eliminate corruption. Lin was appointed as general-secretary of the Executive Yuan in February this year, following his defeat in the legislative election held earlier in January. Political commentators have noted that Lin was previously a favourite of the president. Lin stepped down from his post after being accused of corruption in June. According to the Anti-Corruption Act, government officials who solicit bribes may face up to 7 years in prison, and a fine of NT$60 million; officials who accept bribes may face life imprisonment and a possible fine of NT$100 million. With regard to Lin's case, a judge noted that if a defendant is willing to confess to his or her crimes during interrogation, his or her sentence can be mitigated. According to media reports, Lin has already confessed to some of the charges and has promised to return the illegal gains |
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