Three Taiwan High Court judges and a district prosecutor were detained yesterday in connection with bribes that were allegedly paid during a corruption case involving former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chi-hui (何智輝).
The case stems from a five-year investigation that began in 2005. Observers say it was the largest investigation into judicial corruption ever conducted by the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.
About 100 agents from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau raided more than 34 locations early on Tuesday, including the judges’ offices at the Taiwan High Court and their residences.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The Taipei District Court said yesterday afternoon that all four, along with another two people alleged to be connected to the case, had been taken into custody.
The District Court said High Court judges Lee Chun-ti (李春地), Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和), Tsai Kuang-chih (蔡光治), Banciao Prosecutor Chiu Mao-jung (邱茂榮) and an alleged accomplice, Huang Lai Jui-jen (黃賴瑞珍), had been charged under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). If found guilty, they could face a minimum of 10 years in prison and have to repay up to NT$100 million (US$3.1 million) each.
The other alleged accomplice, Hsieh Yen-jen (謝燕貞), could face a prison sentence of between one and seven years and a fine of up to NT$3 million if found guilty. She is also under suspicion for allegedly destroying evidence, the SIM card from a mobile phone, during Tuesday’s police raids.
The six are suspected of taking or facilitating bribes offered by Ho in return for overturning a lower court’s guilty verdict in a corruption case stemming from his time as a legislator.
Ho, 60, is believed to be on the run. An order barring him from leaving the country was issued yesterday, and prosecutors said they would issue an arrest warrant if he did not turn himself in.
Ho has served as a Miaoli County councilor, Miaoli County commissioner and a legislator.
He was indicted in 2004. In 2006, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of receiving large kickbacks during the development phase of the Tongluo expansion of the Hsinchu Science Park in Miaoli County. Ho appealed the case to the Supreme Court and in May the Taiwan High Court found him not guilty.
Documents released by the Taipei District Court yesterday alleged Ho had paid off some of the judges, possibly through intermediaries during clandestine meetings in cars and underground parking lots. Evidence complied by the court show the payments were believed to have reached NT$3.5 million at one point.
Lee and Chen were the reporting judge and the presiding judge of the High Court trial that acquitted Ho of taking bribes.
Judicial Yuan President Lai In-jaw (賴英照) was infuriated over the “breakdown of order” in the judiciary and pledged to immediately form a special task force to come up with concrete steps in to correct judicial discipline, the Judicial Yuan said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Presidential Office yesterday said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) fully supported efforts to get to the bottom of the case and urged civil servants and judicial personnel to steer clear of corruption.
“The public’s trust in the government is the most important asset of a government,” Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) quoted Ma as saying. “Corruption erodes such trust.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from