Focus Taiwan
Date: 2019/08/23
By: Lin Chang-shun and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) Nine National Security Bureau (NSB) and Presidential Office officials and four China Airlines (CAL) staffers have been formally charged after trying to smuggle cigarettes in conjunction with an overseas visit by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) last month.

Of the 13 individuals involved, 11 were indicted for violating both the Anti-Corruption Act and the Tax Collection Act while the other two where only charged with violating the tax law, according to a Taipei District Prosecutors Office statement Friday.

In the indictments, prosecutors alleged that NSB security agent Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲), who traveled with the president as part of her security detail, pre-ordered 9,200 cartons from CAL's online duty-free store on July 8, three days before Tsai left on her trip to the United States and the Caribbean.

The cigarettes were then put into storage at an airport warehouse owned by China Pacific Catering Services Ltd.    [FULL  STORY]