This author very much resents the person of Liao Hwu-peng (
For a long time, Taiwan's law enforcement bodies have been very good at "selecting targets" in their so-called "investigations." Amid the sea of tip-offs and complaint letters, those against people in power or their relatives never draw the investigators' interest. After giving each case thorough "consideration," the investigators are often too lazy to do the basic homework -- collecting hard evidence. Instead, they launch whirlwind raids. Any evidence found during the raids is then used to justify their lawlessness and crassness. If no evidence is found, they go around telling people how cunning their target has been, how he or she has destroyed the evidence. It is a very strange logic and a very strange method of investigation, and suggests that the law enforcers often see themselves as eternally infallible Judge Paos -- the Almighties of the legal world.
The raid on Liao's suite is a typical example of such logic. Now that the crackdown on "black gold" has become politically correct, tip-offs are starting to flow in. Liao, for his part, is far from being a moral hero. What a God-sent opportunity to put up a show! So go ahead. Stage a raid.
Before the search, a preparatory meeting was held with officials from the Investigation Bureau. The bureau officials believed a hasty raid would be inappropriate and suggested that they start by collecting hard evidence. The suggestion was rejected.
There are two problems with the entire raid. One, it is incompatible with the principle of due process, but after their action turned out to be a snafu, they started reeling out laws and regulations at random to defend themselves, and blurting out rhetoric such as, "Don't let the Legislative Yuan become a safe haven for criminals."
These words might have fooled people if they had been uttered by a talk show host. The fact that they have come from the mouths of prosecutors is a great disappointment. The Legislative Yuan has only demanded that investigations be conducted in accordance with due process. What does that have to do with "a safe haven for criminals?" If, one day, the investigators have collected enough hard evidence to show that a certain legislator has committed a crime, and yet the Legislative Yuan still resists the final search and arrest, then we may call the Legislative Yuan a safe haven for criminals.
The prosecutors' assertion that a crackdown would be "out of the question," moreover, was simply irrelevant.
Secondly, during and after the raid, the prosecutors had no evidence whatsoever to show for their efforts, but they kept saying things to "prove" that their target was indeed guilty. Were they enforcing the law or playing politics? When the search failed to yield any useful evidence, they hauled away a large pile of other, irrelevant stock certificates. Isn't this the old way of carrying out investigations?
Law enforcement and investigation are important powers that should not be abused. Investigators should be more careful and do more homework. No matter who the suspect is, they should collect criminal evidence by legal means before starting searches and arresting people. If raids are used as a starting point for collecting evidence, then there will be little difference between law enforcement and oppression. The bungling this time should prompt prosecutors and investigators to rethink their old habits.
Nan Fang-shuo is the publisher of The Journalist magazine.
Translated by Francis Huang.
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