A Taiwan tycoon and former owner of the “Lianyi Abalone” restaurant chain, Chung Wen-Chih, who is the head of the Motanli Investment Company, was found guilty of manipulating Taiwan Depository Receipts (TDR) and fled to mainland China after the conviction. Prosecutors discovered that there were suspicions of police involvement in assisting Chung Wen-Chih in forging signatures for reporting to the police station. The Taipei City Police Department stated that three former and current deputy directors of the Fude Police Station in the Xinyi precinct are implicated, and all three have been reassigned to non-supervisory positions.
Chung Wen-Chih is suspected of profiting over 4 billion New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) in violation of the Securities and Exchange Act. He was sentenced to a total of 30 years and 5 months by the Supreme Court on March 12th, and after the conviction was finalized, he absconded to mainland China, prompting the issuance of a wanted order by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office.
Chung Wen-Chih went on the run after abandoning bail, and criticisms were directed at the Taiwan High Court Joint Panel for not serving the decision to increase surveillance on Chung Wen-Chih. The Control Yuan of the Republic of China not only impeached Judge Chen Yong-Song for procedural violations on previous cases but on November 12th also requested the Judicial Yuan to take disciplinary action against Chief Judge Chiu Chung-Yi for lapses in duty, and called on the Ministry of Justice to refer Chen Yong-Song and Chiu Chung-Yi to the prosecution for investigation of criminal liabilities.
Furthermore, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office revealed that during the period of restricted exit, Chung Wen-Chih was required to report to the police station regularly, but suspicions arose that a police officer assisted him in forging signatures for his periodic check-ins, potentially violating the Criminal Code on forgery of documents. Investigators conducted searches at the Xinyi Police Station and other locations on December 18th and summoned three deputy directors of the Fude Police Station in Xinyi, a friend of Chung Wen-Chih, as well as more than ten police officers and other witnesses for questioning.
After being charged with manipulating multiple TDRs, Chung Wen-Chih was required to post a bond of 50 million NT dollars by the Taipei District Court in 2018 to avoid detention and was placed under restrictions on residence, exit, and sailing, with daily reporting to the police station. Following the 18-year imprisonment sentence in 2021, he was asked to post an additional bond of 30 million NT dollars and change his reporting schedule to Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays weekly.
Regarding the revelation by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office of police suspected of assisting Chung Wen-Chih in forging signatures, the Taipei City Xinyi Police Station stated that the case was voluntarily reported by the police for investigation by the prosecution. After convening a personnel evaluation meeting, it was decided that Deputy Director Lee would be reassigned to a non-supervisory role and suspension pending approval would be sought if detention is later approved. Deputies surnamed Liang and Gu are similarly reassigned to non-supervisory positions.