By Wu Sheng-ju and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) on Friday last week suspended a bureau official surnamed Hung (洪) over allegations that he had helped write code for online gambling programs, Chinese-language media reported yesterday, adding that the bureau had launched an internal investigation into the matter. A whistle-blower accused an officer surnamed Hsu (許), who was working for the Taoyuan City Police Department’s Department of Information and Technology, of collaborating with two engineers, surnamed Lin (林) and Lan (藍), to set up a dummy corporation and obtain police department bidding contracts, said a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. On April 17, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office launched an investigation and confiscated items pertaining to the case after searching the residences of Hsu, Lin and Lan, the source said.
The main entrance to the Investigation Bureau is pictured in New Taipei City on May 9 last year.
Photo: CNA
The investigation showed that Hung, who was a software engineer before entering public service, was allegedly involved in the collaboration, the source said. The MJIB said it would work closely with prosecutors on the case.
The MJIB said it is looking to convene a temporary Merit Evaluation Committee meeting and would severely punish Hung if an association with the other three is substantiated. MJIB personnel must have upstanding morals if they are expected to investigate others and all personnel must observe the law, it said. Any violations would be investigated thoroughly, the bureau added. Hung, originally stationed in the MJIB’s Taoyuan office, had been tapped to be dispatched to a Middle Eastern country to serve as a legal secretary for the bureau.