Two former New Party lawmakers were convicted of defamation yesterday for claiming that the wife of Lee Teng-hui (
The Taiwan High Court upheld Tseng's appeal after the two ex-lawmakers, Elmer Feng (馮滬祥) and Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大), were acquitted by the Taipei District Court in March.
In addition to Feng and Hsieh, Tai Chi (戴錡), a New Party member of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, was also convicted.
Judge Tsai Jiung-tun (蔡炯墩) sentenced Feng to four months in prison and Hsieh and Tai to three months each.
The defendants can, however, pay NT$300 a day in lieu of going to jail. They must inform prosecutors within 20 days of receiving the official copy of the verdict whether they wish to pay the fine or go to prison.
The court also ruled in favor of Tseng in a civil claim against the three.
Tsai ordered them to broadcast for three consecutive days a statement that reads: "Our accusation against Tseng, that she left Taiwan for the US with suitcases laden with cash after the 2000 presidential election, was not true and we would like to apologize to Tseng."
In newspapers, the court ruled that the trio has to purchase half of the front page to print the statement in the Chinese-language China Times, United Daily News, Liberty Times and Central Daily News.
On television, they are required to buy 30 seconds of airtime between 7pm and 8pm on Taiwan Television Enterprise, China Television Co, China Television System, Formosa Television, TVBS-N, Power Television and Eastern Television to broadcast the statement.
A reporter for ETTV estimated that buying the airtime and newspaper space would cost around NT$10 million.
Tsai's verdict is final and may not be further appealed.
In a counterclaim filed by the three against Tseng for slander, Tsai upheld the original not guilty verdict of Taipei Judge Huang Cheng-hui (
However, because the maximum sentence Tseng faces if convicted is more than three years, the three New Party members may appeal to the Supreme Court. They have 20 days to appeal.
Feng was the only defendant who was present to hear the verdict yesterday. Hsieh is in China on business and Tai lives in the US.
Feng said that the judge was not fair and that he would not apologize for what he had said about Tseng.
He will be imprisoned if he does not comply with the ruling.
"This is ridiculous. What I said was protected under the Constitution, since I was a lawmaker at the time I made the remarks. It seems to me that the judge is insulting the Constitution by sentencing me to four months," Feng said outside the court building.
Legislators enjoy immunity from prosecution for anything they do inside the legislature. Feng and Hsieh initially made the accusations in the legislature but later repeated them to the media.
"Tseng is satisfied with the result and hopes that the matter is now over," Tseng's lawyer, Liu Tsung-hsin (劉宗欣), said.
TSU Lawmaker Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴) said yesterday that his party, which considers Lee its spiritual leader, respected the ruling but that the sentences were too lenient for people who had deliberately spread false rumors.
Shortly after the 2000 presidential election, the trio held press conferences claiming that Tseng had attempted to flee to New York with US$85 million in cash stuffed into 54 suitcases, but was turned back by customs officials. Feng and Hsieh's comments were also broadcast on television.
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