According to Central News Agency, Hsu Wen-cheng, former Executive Vice President of Nan Ya Tire Corporation, accepted kickbacks from suppliers during procurement activities and was initially sentenced to four years and ten months in the first instance for aggravated breach of trust under the Securities and Exchange Act. Hsu appealed, but the Taiwan High Court, considering that he had paid NT$3 million in compensation through a civil settlement with Nan Ya Tire, reduced the sentence to four years and overturned the original ruling. The remaining NT$3.238 million in unaccounted illegal gains were ordered to be confiscated if not returned to victims or third parties entitled to damages.

Court records indicate that from March 1, 2010, until his retirement on March 31, 2014, Hsu was responsible for procurement of mold components. In September 2010, Chen Wen-chang, Vice President of Tien Sheng Precision Technology Co., Ltd.—a tire mold manufacturer and supplier—approached Hsu, proposing to offer him a percentage of the procurement value from Nan Ya Tire’s orders placed with Tien Sheng and its affiliated companies as a gift, in exchange for more business.

Starting after the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2011, Tien Sheng began including the kickback payments in their mold quotations. Hsu subsequently received a total of NT$6.238 million in kickbacks, causing Nan Ya Tire to incur increased procurement costs and suffer financial damage.

The Taiwan Taipei District Court initially sentenced Hsu to four years and ten months. Dissatisfied, Hsu appealed. The Taiwan High Court affirmed the conviction for aggravated breach of trust but reduced the sentence to four years, citing the NT$3 million compensation. Hsu filed a further appeal, but the Supreme Court ruled on August 8 that the second-instance judgment contained no legal or factual errors and that the sentencing was appropriate, rejecting the appeal and finalizing the case. (Editor: Li Ming-tsung)

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  • Source: CNA (Central News Agency)
  • Category: Taiwan