Court rejects request to detain 5 in Tainan green energy fraud probe

Taipei/Tainan, Oct. 24 (CNA) A court rejected a request by prosecutors to hold five individuals in investigative detention on Thursday after six others were released on bail on Wednesday in connection with alleged fraud at state-linked green energy enterprises in Tainan.

Authorities in the southern Taiwanese city conducted raids at 32 locations and questioned 34 individuals on Tuesday, before submitting a court request that five suspects be detained and held incommunicado according to the law.

However, after convening a detention hearing on Wednesday evening at 6.30 p.m. that lasted 10 hours, the Tainan District Court ruled at around 4.30 a.m. on Thursday that there was insufficient evidence to place the five suspects in investigative detention -- which could have allowed prosecutors to hold them incommunicado for two months.

Prosecutors had asked the court for permission to detain and hold incommunicado former Taiyen Green Energy Co. Chairman Chen Chi-yu (陳啟昱), a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker, Su Kun-huang (蘇坤煌), Taiyen Green Energy's former general manager, and a man surnamed Kuo (郭), the company's former vice general manager.

Prosecutors also wanted to detain individuals with legal responsibility for Great Glow Technology Co. Ltd., identified by the surname Su (蘇), and Chao Yang Development Co., surnamed Tai (戴), while they continue their investigation.

The Tainan District Prosecutors Office alleges that the five suspects may have violated the Securities and Exchange Act for breach of trust offenses and the Criminal Code for knowingly causing a public servant to publish an official document containing false information.

Although the five main suspects were released early on Thursday morning, six suspects were released on bails ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$300,000 (US$3,116 to US$9,348) the previous day in connection to the same case.

On Tuesday, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office had coordinated a team that included investigators from the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau to search 32 sites, including Taiyen Green Energy Co.'s offices in the southern city's Gueiren District.

Taiyen Green Energy, a subsidiary of Taiyen Group, was established in 2017 "in response to the government's promotion of energy transition," according to the company's website.

Taiyen Group's largest shareholder is the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which holds 38.88 percent of the company's shares, the company's website said.

Taiwan People's Party (TPP) lawmaker Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) wrote on Facebook that the investigators' search on Tuesday "finally" happened more than a year after he had first "revealed the corruption case."

A populist lawmaker who has repeatedly alleged that the ongoing corruption investigation of his party's leader, Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), is politically motivated, Huang held a press conference in June in which he said the Taiyen Green Energy company was "a tool to reward the rich and powerful" in the ruling DPP.

Prosecutors said on Thursday morning that they will appeal the court's decision.