Taipei, June 18 (CNA) Prosecutors and investigators from an anti-corruption agency raided the headquarters and factory of the state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp.,Taiwan on Monday to search for evidence in an alleged corruption scandal within the company.

The search also extended to companies that are suspected of winning a CPC tender in 2006 through bid rigging, as well as the homes and offices of those suspected of being involved in the case, according to the Agency Against Corruption.

Prosecutors said many documents, including account books and tender forms, were seized during the search. The suspected people had been cooperative, they added.

The Agency Against Corruption under the Ministry of Justice was informed of allegations involving CPC Chairman Chu Shao-hua in late May. Chu was suspected of helping a company in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung City win the tender for an oil leak detection system. The agency soon began an investigation into the allegations.

Asked whether or not they will question Chu, officials in charge of the case declined to make comments.

Last week, Chu claimed he was innocent and denied being involved in any corruption case.

The CPC expressed hope Monday that the truth will be revealed as soon as possible.

The case was exposed by Legislator Lin Chia-lung of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, who accused a Kaohsiung-based construction company of winning the CPC tender with a bid of US$400,000 but spending only US$150,000 to buy the oil leak detection system the oil company ordered.

(By Lin Chung-sen, Lin Meng-ju and Elizabeth Hsu)
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