12 years sought for ex-vice premier in bribery case

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Taoyuan prosecutors are seeking a 12-year jail term for former Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) in a bribery case dating back to 2016 when he served as Taoyuan mayor, after indicting him on corruption charges Tuesday.

At a news conference, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office said a 12-year jail sentence has been recommended for Cheng, who has been held incommunicado since July 11.

Cheng denies any wrongdoing or receiving a NT$5 million (US$156,678) bribe while serving as Taoyuan mayor to broker an industrial development project in the city's Hwa Ya Technology Park, as detailed in the indictment, which was made public the same day.

Ten other individuals were also indicted on charges that included bribery, fraud and embezzlement on Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Cheng allegedly engaged in influence peddling and accepted the NT$5 million bribe to assist in land rezoning by designating a plot of farmland for industrial development, after being approached by a company jointly established by individuals surnamed Yang (楊), Liao (廖) and Hou (侯), who were looking to open a facility at the Hwa Ya Technology Park.

The rezoning would have paved the way for the 9.12-hectares of farmland acquired by the company to be included in the technology park as part of an expansion project, at a time when Micron Taiwan was planning to set up a plant in the industrial park, the indictment said.

Yang, Liao and Hou sought assistance from Cheng to have the farmland rezoned, taking advantage of the Micron project, so the two development plans could be approved and designated major national development projects under the Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan being promoted by the National Development Council (NDC) at the time, it said.

Thereafter, Cheng convened a series of municipal meetings from Dec. 13, 2016, asking the competent bureaus to seek major national development project status for the company's plan, while instructing the municipal authorities to look into rezoning the land.

On Sept. 7, 2017, Cheng called a municipal meeting on expanding the park and ordered officials to proceed with the rezoning, despite concerns expressed by several of those present.

Following the meeting, Yang directed Liao and his son to take NT$5 million in cash in a black holdall to the reception room at Cheng's official residence on Sept. 14 to thank Cheng in person for his assistance, according to the indictment.

On Oct. 3 that year, Cheng signed the document approving the rezoning, and told Liao on the phone "I've talked with the NDC" a few days later, the indictment said.

However, it is alleged that Cheng was later tipped off that Liao's phone had been tapped, and showed no further interest in follow-up issues regarding park land development at municipal meetings in 2018.

After asking Liao's son to tell his father about the phone tap, Cheng allegedly took an additional NT$6 million in political donations in person at the son's home on May 21, 2018.

However, Cheng later returned the NT$11 million to Liao's son at his official residence on Aug. 13, 2018, concerned that the payment could be exposed, the indictment said.

Cheng argued during the investigation that the black holdall was "dropped" inadvertently at his residence and he did not know it contained money. However, prosecutors believe Cheng knew there was money inside as the notes were tied differently when he returned the bag to Liao's son.

Meanwhile, Cheng is also under investigation in a separate case, after N$6.78 million in cash was discovered at his Taipei residence during a search by prosecutors on July 29, with no indication as to its origin.

Cheng is also being investigated by the Control Yuan for violations of the Political Donations Act, the indictment noted.