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Unable to post bail, Wangs to stay in custody

Four family members of Wang You-theng (王又曾), the fugitive founder of the Rebar Asia Pacific Group (力霸亞太企業集團), were granted release on bail by the Taipei District Court yesterday, but as of press time they remained in custody after failing to come up with the money.

Wang's younger brother, Frank Wang (王事展), and three of Wang You-theng's children -- China Rebar Co (中國力霸) vice chairman Wang Lin-tai (王令台), Asia Pacific Broadband Telecom Co (亞太固網寬頻) president Wang Lin-i (王令一) and Chia Hsin Food and Synthetic Fiber Co (嘉新食品化纖) chairman Wang Lin-chiao (王令僑) -- were granted bail of NT$150 million (US$4.6 million) each.

Taipei District Court spokesman Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩) said Wang family lawyers told the court in the afternoon the family was unable to come up with that amount of money.

Liu said the four would remain in custody for two more months if they failed to pay the money by midnight on Saturday.

Six other top executives working for the Wangs in various companies were released on bail yesterday after each paid several million dollars in bail.

The court ordered that the defendants report to police stations closest to their residences every day between 7pm and 10pm, as well as to the district court every Wednesday at 9:20 am.

The court said it had evaluated the 10 defendants' roles in the scandal, had received their statements and saw no need to keep them in custody, Liu said.

The bail requested for the four Wangs was set high because the family is believed to have embezzled very large sums from various subsidiaries of the Rebar Group and the four members had played major roles in the scheme, he said.

Liu said that as the four had committed felonies, there was no limit to the number of times their custody could be extended, which under different circumstances would be limited to once or twice.

After learning of the court's decision, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday afternoon filed an appeal with the Taiwan High Court in an attempt to overturn the district court's decision.

In an indictment last March, the prosecution said the Wang family had obtained illegal benefits by setting up numerous dummy corporations through which they engaged in fraud, insider trading and embezzlement.

The scandal broke in January last year when two Rebar member companies -- Chia Hsin Food and Synthetic Co and China Rebar Co -- filed for bankruptcy restructuring with the Taipei District Court, sparking a run on the Chinese Bank, another Rebar subsidiary.

Wang You-theng and his wife, Wang Chin She-ying (王金世英), are on the nation's most-wanted list.
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