Control Yuan Impeaches Kaohsiung Military Doctor for Allegedly Accepting TWD 1.84 Million in Improper Payments from Pharmaceutical Supplier

According to a report from Central News Agency (CNA), on June 16, the Control Yuan announced that Chung Li-min, former Major and head of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department at the Zuoying Branch of the Armed Forces Kaohsiung General Hospital, has been impeached for allegedly receiving improper payments exceeding TWD 1.84 million from a pharmaceutical supplier. The case has been referred to the Disciplinary Court for adjudication.

More than ten military medical officers from the Gangshan and Zuoying branches of the Armed Forces Kaohsiung General Hospital were accused of accepting bribes from pharmaceutical suppliers. In the first instance, the Kaohsiung District Court acquitted Chung due to insufficient evidence. However, the second-instance Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch reversed the decision, convicting Chung of accepting TWD 1.84 million in bribes and sentencing him to eight years and six months in prison. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the second-instance ruling and remanded it for retrial. In 2025 (Minguo Year 114), the Kaohsiung High Court’s retrial first-instance judgment acquitted Chung again, with the option to appeal.

In its press release announcing the impeachment, the Control Yuan stated that during his tenure as Major and head of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department and later as Senior Colonel and head of the Outpatient Department at the former Zuoying Branch, Chung used pharmaceutical products distributed by a supplier surnamed Zhuang. From January 2015 to March 2017, Chung allegedly received monthly improper payments from Zhuang in his office, totaling TWD 1,846,201. The Control Yuan concluded that the evidence of misconduct is clear and substantial.

The Control Yuan emphasized that Chung’s actions undermined public integrity, tarnished the廉洁ness of military personnel, severely distorted the economic order of fair pharmaceutical market competition, and damaged public trust in the impartiality and reliability of civil servants. His conduct not only violated the Civil Servants Service Act but also breached the Civil Servants’ Integrity Ethics Guidelines and the Armed Forces Personnel Integrity Ethics Guidelines. Given the clear facts and serious nature of the case, the Control Yuan passed the impeachment proposal submitted by Control Yuan members Pu Chung-cheng, Chen Ching-chun, and Lin Yu-jung on June 9. The case has now been transferred to the Disciplinary Court for formal proceedings.