Taiwanese military doctor impeached over $1.84M bribe allegations

A former medical officer at the Armed Forces Kaohsiung General Hospital has been impeached by the Control Yuan for allegedly accepting over NT$1.84 million in bribes from a pharmaceutical agent. The impeachment, passed unanimously by 13 review committee members, moves the case to the Disciplinary Court.

Chung Li-min, who served as the head of the pathology and laboratory department and later as the head of the outpatient department, allegedly used his authority to prescribe medications distributed by a pharmaceutical agent named Chuang. To boost sales, Chuang obtained monthly drug usage details from the hospital pharmacy. He then calculated bribes based on the quantity of his distributed drugs prescribed by Chung, ranging from 10% to 60% of the cost, and delivered the cash in envelopes.

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He should have maintained integrity and performed his duties in accordance with the law to enhance the honest, clean, prudent, and diligent image of the military. Instead, he failed to restrain himself and, driven by personal greed, accepted illicit payments from a pharmaceutical agent through his official duties.

From January 2015 to March 2017, Chung allegedly received these illicit payments monthly in his office, totaling NT$1,846,201. The Control Yuan emphasized that Chung's actions violated ethical standards, distorted market competition, and damaged the integrity of the military and public trust in civil servants. Chung, who retired in February 2024, has been accused of succumbing to personal greed and betraying the image of honesty and diligence expected of military personnel.

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This act has corrupted official conduct and tarnished the integrity of military personnel, violated drug transaction ethics, and severely distorted and undermined the economic order of drug market competition.