A former colonel was impeached by the Control Yuan on Wednesday for extorting a contractor to provide him bathroom accessories and collectible liquor bottles worth about NT$185,912 (US$6,188) for his new home while working at the defense ministry.
In a unanimous vote, the Control Yuan members determined that Chen Chi-lin (???) was guilty of using his position at the Political Warfare Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense from 2010 to 2015 to extort Ju Ming Construction Co. into providing him the gifts.
When Ju Ming undertook a construction project at a military academy operated by the bureau in 2010, Chen demanded that the constructor provide him with bathroom accessories for a new house he was about to move into, a Control Yuan report said.
Chen, who was then in charge of carrying out a final inspection and approving the project, received gifts valued at NT$127,283 from the contractor, according to the report, based on an investigation conducted by Control Yuan members Chen Chin-jun (???) and Tsai Chung-yi (???).
The contractor was further extorted by Chen into buying him bathroom fixtures and collectible liquor bottles, worth NT$48,699 and NT$9,930 respectively, to settle disputes related to the delays in the project, the report said.
Following the vote, the case will be referred to the Disciplinary Court, which governs the discipline of civil servants, for deliberation, the Control Yuan said in a statement.
In February this year, the Taiwan High Court upheld a guilty verdict against Chen in this case, as he was given a sentence of five years and two months in prison and a six-year suspension of civil rights, according to local media. The case is subject to appeal.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel