KMT asks prosecutors to look into MND defense contract award

Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) A member of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) filed a complaint with prosecutors Monday alleging that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) had improperly awarded a NT$205.2 million (US$6.54 million) contract for ammunition primers in 2024 to a Tainan-based shoe company.

In the complaint, Taoyuan City Councilor Ling Tao (凌濤) of the KMT accused the MND and its personnel in charge of public procurements of acting improperly in handling a 2024 tender for 5.56 mm ammunition primers, the chemical that ignites the propellant powder in a given cartridge.

Ling said the NT$205.2 million contract was awarded to Big Stone International Co., a company that mainly sells sneakers and leather shoes.

The city councilor alleged, without concrete evidence other than the incongruity of a shoe company importing and selling defense materials, that the bidding process may have violated the Anti-Corruption Act and Article 131 of the Criminal Code related to bribery of public officials.

He did suggest one oddity in the process -- that Big Stone International completed a change to its business registration in June 2024 to add "ammunition primers" to the items it was allowed to handle and then won a tender for the item just 41 days later, on July 17, 2024.

Ling alleged that several vendors winning military tenders in recent months had undergone similar business registration changes and urged prosecutors to investigate.

Company says it will sue

The MND dismissed Ling's accusation, saying Big Stone delivered the contracted ammunition primers in March 2025, ahead of the scheduled delivery date, and that the goods had been accepted by the military.

Big Stone said the allegations were unfounded, noting that it followed the Government Procurement Act in participating in the bidding process and was awarded the contract accordingly.

The company said it has asked its lawyer to file both a civil and criminal lawsuit against Ling for alleged defamation.

Ling's accusation targeting the Tainan-based company was the second time the party has questioned whether the winner of an MND tender was qualified to participate in the process.

On Dec. 10, KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said Tainan-based Home-Max Furniture Trading Ltd. won a Dec. 2, 2024 tender to import a batch of RDX (royal demolition explosive) for around NT$590 million.

Wang questioned whether a relatively small furniture trading company should have been eligible to bid for a contract involving explosive materials, let alone win it.

RDX, also known as hexogen, is a powerful explosive with strong detonation characteristics and is widely used in military applications, including in C-4.

Home-Max Furniture Trading Co. denied Wang's accusation, saying that it is a qualified international trading company and has 10-year exclusive agency rights to import RDX from the United States.

On Monday, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) again defended the tenders and winning trading companies, saying that any qualified international trading company can submit a bid.

To ensure the company can fulfill the contract, Koo said it requires winners of tenders to present an export permit and documentation identifying the original manufacturer by a set deadline.

Koo previously defended trading companies participating in bids for imported military items on Dec. 11, a day after Wang raised her suspicions.