By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
The Control Yuan has voted to impeach 601st Air Cavalry
Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) and two other
officers over security breaches and rule violations in what came to be known as
the “Apache helicopter scandal” earlier this year.
A nine-member Control Yuan committee
yesterday said that it had voted unanimously to impeach Lao, a pilot-instructor for the US-made
AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.
Brigade commander Major General Chien
Tsung-yuan (簡聰淵) was impeached after a unanimous vote, while
brigade personnel section head Lieutenant Colonel Tao Kuo-chen (陶國禎) was
impeached after an 8-1 vote.
Lao took a group of 26 relatives and friends,
including a Japanese man and five domestic caregivers who were foreign
nationals, on a private tour of a restricted-access base which houses Apache
helicopters and other advanced aircraft.
That visit on March 29 led to a firestorm after one
visitor, TV personality Janet Lee (李蒨蓉), posted photographs
on Facebook that drew widespread public criticism.
The Control Yuan report accused Lao of
“wasting” the NT$40 million (US$1.28 million) the government spent to send him
to the US
“Lao took the nation’s assets as his own
private property. He used the Apache helicopter as a social networking tool and
took the helicopter helmet as a prop for a private party. During the
investigation, Lao continued to lie about his actions and tried to cover them
up. He has brought dishonor to the military,” the report said.
Chien was the first person to breach base security with
a tour for his relatives and friends on Feb. 20 this year, the report said,
adding that Lao followed Chien’s example.
The investigation said that Tao was in charge
of security and access to the base on March 29, but violated registration requirements
and other regulations in permitting Lao’s group to bypass security checks.
Structure of the Lead：
WHO-Lao Nai-cheng(勞乃成), Janet Lee (李蒨蓉)
WHEN-this year
WHAT- impeach 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng
WHY-Janet Lee posted photographs on Facebook that drew widespread public criticism
WHERE-not given
HOW-not given
Keywords：
1.
impeach：控告
2.
unanimously：無意義地
3.
firestorm：大爆發
4.
breach：違反
5.
bypass：省略；破壞
