Control Yuan passes motion to impeach ex-WDA head, branch director

Taipei, June 12 (CNA) The Control Yuan has passed a motion to impeach former Workforce Development Agency (WDA) head Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) and former WDA New Taipei branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) over allegations that workplace bullying led to a subordinate's suicide.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Taiwan's top government watchdog said it had passed a motion on June 5 to impeach Hsieh, who has been accused of engaging in workplace bullying and graft in a government procurement case.

Hsieh faces accusations that she had disclosed confidential information, passed undue benefits to a company, and took a gift box worth NT$20,000 (US$674) purchased using the Ministry of Labor's Employment Stabilization Fund.

All 12 Control Yuan members who reviewed the motion passed it in a unanimous vote, according to the statement.

The case now goes to the Disciplinary Court.

Hsieh has been indicted over alleged wrongdoing in connection with the procurement case.

Prosecutors did not press any charges over accusations of workplace bullying that could have led to the suicide of a former WDA employee surnamed Wu (吳), citing a lack of causality.

The impeachment motion, sponsored by Control Yuan members Wang Li-jen (王麗珍), Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) and Wang Mei-yu (王美玉), cited Hsieh's "poor control of her emotions" as evidence of workplace bullying.

She often scolded and insulted her subordinates, which led to many at her branch applying to be transferred over work-induced mental and physical health problems, according to the motion.

In addition, the indictment linked Wu's death to "immense work-related pressure," which it attributed to Hsieh's heavy-handed leadership style, causing her subordinates to be afraid to speak their minds.

Meanwhile, the Control Yuan members suggested that Tsai be impeached for protecting Hsieh, recommending her promotion to the post, then turning a blind eye to her management issues and "significantly boosting Hsieh's scores" in job performance reviews.

Additionally, the motion said, Tsai was negligent in an initial investigation into Wu's death by "recklessly" determining that it had resulted from "personal reasons."

Tsai also persuaded his superiors that a written report detailing findings from a probe into the incident was unnecessary, which contributed to the subsequent public outcry and caused the government's image to be tarnished, the motion stated.

In response, the MOL, which oversees the WDA's operations, said it respected the Control Yuan's passage of the impeachment motion and would cooperate with the Disciplinary Court's investigation.

The public furor over the incident caused the MOL to announce on Nov. 20 last year after a job performance review committee meeting that Hsieh would receive two major demerits and be dismissed from her post, and that Tsai would get one major demerit and be transferred to a nonmanagerial post.