Transportation officials say a Maritime Port Bureau employee is suspected of improperly issuing boat operator’s licenses in central Taiwan.
The man, surnamed Sung, has been a maritime official for over 14 years. He is suspected of helping applicants bypass examinations in order to obtain a boat operator’s license. It’s thought that he charged the applicants between NT$25,000-NT$50,000 (about US$900-US$1,800).
Authorities say that when they looked into around 2,000 questionable boat licenses, they discovered that Sung had issued about 95% of them.
Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung spoke about the case in a report to the legislature on Monday morning. Lin says authorities launched an investigation into the case last April. The minister says he ordered maritime personnel to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Lin says Sung has been written up and transferred from his original post. Transportation officials will begin procedures to suspend him from the job for two years once his punishments are processed.
Lin says that moving forward, the transportation ministry will work to eliminate loopholes in the boat licensing procedures.