Taipei recycling worker gets suspended sentence in rice cooker case

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) The Shilin District Court on Tuesday handed a public-sector recycling worker in Taipei a two-year suspended sentence for corruption after he took home a discarded rice cooker valued at NT$32.56 (US$1.03) and gave it to someone else.

The worker surnamed Huang (黃), who is with the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection's sanitation team in Beitou District, received a three-month jail term, suspended for two years, along with a one-year deprivation of civil rights, the court said.

The ruling can still be appealed.

The case stemmed from an incident in July 2024, when Huang brought home a Tatung-branded rice cooker that he took while collecting items given by the public for recycling on his sanitation route.

According to Shilin prosecutors, after confirming the rice cooker was usable, Huang brought it to Xinzhuang District in New Taipei the next day and gave it to an elderly woman whose name and age were not identified by the court.

Later, after the Beitou sanitation team was made aware of his action through a public complaint, Huang turned himself in to the Ministry of Justice's Agency Against Corruption.

The Shilin District Prosecutors Office filed corruption charges against him in June, saying the case involved a civil servant embezzling private property in the course of his duties.

Prosecutors said Huang had confessed to the offense and voluntarily surrendered his "illicit gains" -- the discarded rice cooker -- and asked the court to take this into account when determining his sentence.

Following the disclosure of the indictment by Shilin prosecutors, the case drew widespread media attention.

Huang's supervisor, Chao Hsin-tsen (卓昕岑), who heads the office, said Huang admitted taking the rice cooker and giving it to the elderly woman, stressing he had no ill intentions and was only trying to help.

The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection later explained that Huang is a seasoned employee who values personal relationships and wanted to help a vulnerable person.

During the internal investigation, it was found that he was so embarrassed when he asked the elderly woman to return the rice cooker that he bought her a new one with his own money, the department said.

The department also said Huang will keep his job, but will be given a demerit for his action.