A leak scandal has erupted at the Taipei City Police Department, where a criminal investigation squad leader was arrested and dismissed for helping a retired police officer look up personal data — bad news for discipline in the police force.

• Chen, the leader of the Technology Investigation Squad in the Taipei City Criminal Investigation Corps, is suspected of using his official position to look up and leak members of the public's personal data.
• The recipient of the data was Wu, his retired mentor from the police force, who went into real estate after retiring and is suspected of requesting the data searches.
• After detecting the irregularity on its own, the city police department referred the case to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for investigation; the two men were arrested the day before yesterday and handed over to the Taipei prosecutors.
• Chen is suspected of violating the Anti-Corruption Act, the offense of leaking secrets, and the Personal Data Protection Act. He was given two major demerits and dismissed outright from the force.

Outlook: Prosecutors will continue to investigate where the personal data went and whether money changed hands; the case may bring more details to light.