More than 50 suspects are being questioned by prosecutors for faking the Kaohsiung Harbour's container volume, the Central News Agency (CNA) said late Friday, according to dpa. According to CNA, the Kaohsiung Prosecutor's Office and Kaohsiung police searched 27 places at the Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau and shipping firms Friday, and has summoned more than 50 suspects for questioning. The suspects include Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau employees and shipping firms' staff members. The questioning will continue overnight to Saturday morning. The scandal came to light after prosecutors were tipped off that some Kaohsiung Harbour Bureau employees, lured by bonuses for reaching the 10 million TUE (20-foot equivalent unit) target, collaborated with shipping merchants to fake container volume. The implicated harbour employees allegedly received a total of 1 billion Taiwan dollars (21 million US dollars) in bonuses for reaching Kaohsiung Harbour's 2007 handling target of 10 million TEUs. The shipping lines received incentives such as discounts in service fees. If convicted, the suspects face a maximum five-year sentence on document forgery charges. In recent years, Kaohsiung Harbour's world ranking has fallen quickly due to Taiwan's five-decade ban on shipping links with China and expansion of mega container ports in neighbouring countries, especially China. In the early 1990s, Kaohsiung Harbour's ranked third in the world, but has slipped to nearly number 10. According to the Transport Ministry, the Kaohsiung Harbour handled 10.2 million TEUs in 2007, up 4.93 per cent from 2006. But now that the scandal has been exposed, the ministry has to recalculate the figures or dismiss the 2007 container turnover as invalid, if the true figure cannot be compiled.
