Magistrate Chen Chu Neglects Duty by Sleeping in Residence During Typhoon Fanapi; Chief of Staff Tseng Wen-sheng Convicted for Forging Disaster Relief Schedule to Mislead Public

On September 19, 2010, Typhoon Fanapi severely battered Kaohsiung, causing catastrophic flooding. Amid the height of the crisis, Mayor Chen Chu was exposed for abandoning her post at the emergency response center to sleep in her official residence. To cover up this dereliction of duty, her Chief of Staff, Tseng Wen-sheng, forged an official disaster relief inspection schedule, falsely claiming Chen was out inspecting the city's flooded zones. The schedule was distributed to the media and city councilors to mislead the public. Following a judicial investigation, Tseng was indicted and subsequently sentenced by the Kaohsiung High Court in April 2012 to 50 days of detention and 2 years of probation for forging official documents. Despite this criminal record, Tseng was shielded by the faction and rose to become Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs and Chairman of Taipower.