TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man’s attempt to bribe officials at the Irrigation Agency’s Taoyuan Management Office failed because the money he hid in tea jars went unnoticed until a janitor found it while cleaning.
UDN reported that the man, surnamed Liu (劉), had applied to rent the office’s land to operate a parking lot in March 2020. In April of that year, he visited the office with two gift boxes containing jars of tea and red envelopes and handed them directly to the two staff members, surnamed Tsai (蔡) and Lee (李), who were responsible for his application.
After accepting the gifts, Tsai and Lee left them on a table without examining the contents. Later, while a janitor surnamed Huang (黃) was organizing the table, he opened up the tea jars and was surprised to find two red envelopes inside, one containing NT$20,000 (US$700) and the other NT$10,000. Huang immediately reported his discovery.
The Investigation Bureau ultimately tracked down Liu by reviewing the office’s surveillance footage and transferred his case to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office, where Liu was questioned for corruption. Liu admitted to attempting to bribe the officials, per UDN, and his confession matched the evidence and office staff’s statements.
In the end, since Liu had no criminal record and had made a confession, prosecutors believed he had learned his lesson and would not attempt to bribe again. Though Liu had violated the Anti-Corruption Act, prosecutors decided to defer prosecution and issue a NT$50,000 fine.