Three senior judges have been suspended in the latest corruption scandal implicating top judiciary figures, authorities said yesterday.
The decision was made following a meeting convened by the High Court’s disciplinary panel on Friday, judicial authorities said.
Supreme Court Judge Hsiao Yang-kuei (蕭仰歸) was accused of pressuring High Court Chief Judge Kao Ming-che (高明哲) into clearing his son of hit-and-run charges. Another high court judge, Yang Ping-chen (楊炳禎), was suspected of “ethical misconduct” — including visiting prostitutes and alleged involvement in a collective bribery case.
The Judicial Yuan has referred the three judges to the Control Yuan for further investigation.
The disciplinary panel took action a day after the Supreme Court’s Special Investigation Panel raided 20 locations as part of an anti-graft campaign.
This is the second time that three senior judges have been implicated in corruption scandals. On July 13, three other judges were arrested on charges of taking bribes, leading to the resignation of Lai In-jaw (賴英照) as Judicial Yuan president to take responsibility for the scandal.
The Judicial Yuan said the decision by the High Court and the Supreme Court to discipline the judges showed the judiciary’s determination to re-examine its conduct after a string of corruption scandals.
If deemed punishable by a disciplinary committee after being censured by the Control Yuan, the six judges may be dismissed from their posts, demoted or receive a demerit.
Calling on all state employees to behave in a more exemplary manner, Control Yuan President Wang Chien-shien (王建煊) said the recent spate of corruption scandals involving judges and prosecutors had undermined the image of the judiciary and hurt public confidence.
While President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has endorsed Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming’s (黃世銘) drive to wipe out corruption in the judiciary, several lawmakers and Control Yuan members contended that the Judicial Yuan should get to the bottom of all the cases by handing them over to the prosecution.
Only through administrative and legal reform can the age-old problem of corruption be eradicated, they said.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS