Taiwanese Sanitation Worker Charged with Corruption for Using Public Garbage Truck for Private Waste

A sanitation worker in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, has been indicted on corruption charges for allegedly misusing public resources to handle waste from his private cleaning business. The 64-year-old worker, identified by the surname Zhuang, is accused of using a public garbage truck to dispose of waste collected by his company, thereby saving costs. According to the indictment, between February and May 2022, Zhuang's company was contracted to clear waste from a memorial hall. He reportedly transported polystyrene boxes, a blackboard, and a cooling tower from the site to his residence. Subsequently, he arranged for the polystyrene boxes to be collected by the public sanitation team in a community and used a public recycling truck to take the blackboard from his alleyway at night. In a separate incident in early June 2022, Zhuang allegedly drove a public garbage truck to his residence without authorization and loaded the cooling tower into the vehicle. This action purportedly saved him NT$6,000 in fees that would have been charged by an incineration plant and incurred approximately NT$135.3 in fuel costs for the sanitation team. Prosecutors have charged Zhuang with violating the Waste Disposal Act for illegally engaging in waste disposal, as well as charges related to embezzlement under the Anti-Corruption Act and breach of trust as a public servant. The prosecution noted that Zhuang confessed during the investigation and that his illicit gains were less than NT$50,000, which he has since repaid, requesting a reduced sentence. The case was investigated by the Agency Against Corruption before being transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office.