TAIWAN PUBLIC SERVANTS RESOLD STOLEN COMPUTERPublic servants resold own stolen laptop - The China Post

Public servants resold own stolen laptop

Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Members of Shihlin District's Lanya Division under Taipei's Environmental Protection Bureau discovered the new laptop computer for their office was the exact same one that was stolen four years earlier.

Suspected thief and employee Chen told Division Chief Chou the laptop, valued at NT$28,000, "went missing" from the office desk. It was suspected by employees in the division to be an "inside job," as no signs of forced entry or a break-in were observed at the scene.

As it was a communal computer, members at the office decided to all contribute to raise the necessary funds to buy a new one to replace the stolen one.

Chen, aged 27, who said he would use the NT$28,000 in cash to buy a new computer. However, when adjusting hardware in the computer, current Division Chief Li discovered the identification code on the main components of the machine matched the computer stolen four years earlier.

Prosecutors are pushing for a tough penalty for the betrayal of trust in the workplace, saying that that Chen be incarcerated for ten months for the offense.