A local court yesterday quashed charges of bribery against Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), who once led an 11-day hunger strike to protest against what she said was a political prosecution.
The verdict reached by the Yunlin District Court gave some relief to the embattled Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) commissioner who was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2009 -despite the -judicial proceedings.
Su had faced charges of accepting NT$5 million (US$174,845) in bribes to speed up approval of a landfill in the county by skipping an environmental assessment. Prosecutors had argued for a 15-year sentence and an eight-year suspension of civil rights.
Photo: Taipei Times
“There’s nothing happy about this ruling today. I have been innocent from the start in this case,” Su somberly told hundreds of supporters after the verdict was announced. “I have never accepted even one dollar in bribes.”
Suggesting that the decision relied on testimony from a key witness, Su said that she would like to thank a special person that “stood as firm as a mountain.”
“There are many things that I will not be able to disclose publicly, but I would like to especially thank a special friend,” Su said. “I especially express gratitude to you and am especially thankful for you.”
The ruling was keenly watched after Su and other DPP politicians said that prosecutors were on a “political witch hunt” to find misconduct connected to the Yunlin County commissioner.
Hundreds of supporters, including local politicians and community figures, gathered outside the courtroom, expressing support and proclaiming Su’s innocence before the ruling was announced in the afternoon.
Su immediately proclaimed her innocence when first detained in late 2008 and went on an 11-day hunger strike that saw her being rushed to the hospital, instead of paying a NT$6 million bail that she said she could not afford.
She has been called the poorest local commissioner nationwide, with financial disclosure records showing that she and her husband are more than NT$20 million in debt.
During her defense, lawyers acknowledged that the NT$5 million bribe was given, but said that the money was immediately returned by Lin Yuan-chuan (林源泉), Yunlin County’s deputy commissioner.
“We hope that Su is the last victim of Taiwan’s judicial system,” said Lee Ching-yung (李進勇), Su’s lawyer.
In a statement released after the verdict, the DPP called on prosecutors to thoroughly review the case, saying that the process was “flawed.”
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the controversy had irreversibly damaged Su’s reputation.
“Despite the not guilty ruling, the damage has been done,” Cheng said. “Despite a lack of evidence, [prosecutors] had brazenly searched and detained a local commissioner — creating divisions within Taiwanese society.”
Chiang Teh-lung (蔣得龍), spokesman for the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office, said prosecutors would decide later whether to appeal the case to the Taiwan High Court.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique