He once smuggled his army's washing machines back home, and the former Chief of Staff of the Taiwan Army stationed in Kinmen was sentenced to 12 years in prison for embezzlement. | Investigation | Army | Friend | Kinmen | Chief of Staff | Lin Dizhi | Washing Machine
The Taiwanese military has once again reported corruption scandals.
According to ETtoday News Cloud, a local media outlet, on August 13th, former Major General Lin Dizhi, Chief of Staff of the Kinmen Defense Command of the Taiwan Army, sent a public washing machine back to his home in Tainan for use in 2018. After being discovered and investigated by the investigation agency, he privately found a driver to purchase the same type of washing machine fish eye mixed beads, and also transported the washing machine that was originally occupied to a friend's home in Kinmen. He colluded with a friend to forge a temporary loan and use guarantee, and was transferred by the investigation agency for violating the Corruption Punishment Regulations. The Kinmen District Court recently sentenced him to 12 years in prison and deprived him of public rights for 3 years. The entire case can be appealed.
According to the verdict, during his tenure as Major General and Chief of Staff of the Jin Defense Department, Lin Dizhi learned that the Logistics Department of the Jin Defense Department would purchase washing machines for officers and soldiers. He voluntarily proposed to purchase washing machines for Deputy Chief of Staff Zheng Youwei, and after the Logistics Department was in charge, he purchased 10 units at a price of NT $7990 per unit.On January 4, 2018, Lin Dizhi instructed two drivers who were unaware to check in and send the washing machine to their residence in Tainan.
Six months later, the incident occurred, and Lin Dizhi, in order to cover up his wrongdoing, spent 8000 yuan at his own expense to have two pilots purchase a washing machine of the same model and transport it back to the camp, and explained not to be discovered by the troops. Lin Dizhi returned the washing machine that had been transported to Tainan to Kinmen, and before news reports of his transfer to judicial investigation, he transported the original washing machine to the residence of an unknown friend. He also asked the friend to write a "washing machine storage certificate" to prove that the washing machine was handed over to a friend surnamed Chen for use "over a year ago" in an attempt to cover up the crime. The whole incident only broke out after the investigation agency went to a friend surnamed Chen's public works office to seize the washing machine.
After the trial, the judge found that Lin Dizhi, with the respect of his position as Chief of Staff, also embezzled a public washing machine worth 7990 yuan, and intentionally purchased a washing machine of the same model to cover up his wrongdoing. After the case broke out, he asked a friend surnamed Chen to assist in correcting the lie. He did not plead guilty until the end of the trial. In accordance with the Corruption Punishment Regulations, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and deprived of public rights for 3 years. The entire case can be appealed.
According to previous reports from Taiwan media such as China Times News, in early October 2019, Major General Lin Dizhi, who had just taken over as the Chief of Staff of the Kinmen Defense Command of the Taiwan Army, was suddenly transferred to serve as a member of the Taiwan Army Command. Due to the unprecedented nature of the incident, the Taiwanese military's move is considered quite unusual and has sparked discussions within the military.
On October 7, 2019, the Taiwan Army Command suddenly released a news report stating that Major General Lin Dizhi, then Chief of Staff of the Jin Defense Department, was under investigation due to issues related to financial reporting. The Taiwan Army has ordered his transfer to the position of a member of the Army Command with immediate effect. It is understood that Lin Dizhi has already been discharged from the military.
The prosecution privately revealed that during his tenure as Chief of Staff, Lin Dizhi was suspected of occupying a large number of public property in the military, including various decorations, such as Wenchang pens, treasure pots, vases, etc. displayed in the office.The prosecution also found that Lin's personal meal expenses for entertaining relatives and friends were actually reimbursed by him to the public account, suspected of instructing subordinates to reimburse them together with the meal expenses.
