Several star baseball players, gang members and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Tainan County Council speaker Wu Chien-pao (吳健保) were yesterday found guilty of having played a part in the match-fixing scandal that rocked the domestic league in 2009, but critics said the punishments they have received do not fit their crimes.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday announced that it has determined that the defendants conspired to fix Chinese Professional Baseball League games by colluding with various illegal gambling syndicates, starting from the 2006 season.
Of the 35 players charged in 2010 in the case, three high-profile figures were found guilty yesterday: former Brother Elephants power hitters Chen Chih-yuan (陳致遠) and Tsai Fong-an (蔡豐安), and former La New Bears ace pitcher Chang Chih-chia (張誌家).
Photo: CNA
The High Court’s ruling reduced the trio’s original jail terms from one to two-and-a-half years, to between four and six months. Chen and Tsai can commute their jail terms by paying a fine of NT$162,000 (US$5,400) each, while Chang can do so with a NT$120,000 payment.
The 2009 game-fixing scandal was the fifth to have erupted in the league and is known as the “Windshield Wiper” (雨刷) baseball scandal because Tsai Cheng-yi (蔡政宜), the alleged mastermind behind the main gambling syndicate, is nicknamed “The Windshield Wiper.”
Tsai Cheng-yi got a jail sentence of three years and eight months in yesterday’s verdict, which cannot be commuted to a fine.
Photo: CNA
In the ruling, the court also found Wu guilty of financing Tsai Cheng-yi and his “Windshield Wiper” gambling syndicate and sentenced the former council speaker to three years and two months in jail.
Another key figure named in the ruling is Brother Elephants pitcher Chuang Yu-lin (莊侑霖), who the court says was the gambling syndicates’ main contact. He received a three-year term that can be commuted to a fine.
Tseng Han-chou (曾漢州), former slugger for the Chinatrust Whales, was also found guilty and, in addition to his original one-year jail sentence, received a separate one-year and 10-month term that can be commuted through paying fines.
The High Court’s ruling drew condemnation from sports circles, fans and experts yesterday, who said the light sentences are detrimental to the sport’s development because the guilty players have gotten away with committing major criminal offenses without having to serve prison sentences.
CPBL deputy secretary-general Wang Hui-min (王惠民) expressed regret over the verdicts on behalf of the league.
“We are worried that the sentencing will not deter other players from undertaking such actions in the future and thus damage pro baseball in Taiwan,” he said.
“This ruling shows that the presiding judges do not understand professional baseball very well. It also shows that they do not appreciate the serious harm this scandal has inflicted on the sport and on society,” Wang said.
Chinatrust Brothers manager and former CPBL secretary-general Wayne Lee (李文彬) said he was disappointed with the verdict, adding that he is concerned that criminal syndicates will once again try to infiltrate the nation’s ballparks to entice players to throw games.
The “Windshield Wiper” scandal broke in 2009, when a judicial probe was launched a day after the finale of the CPBL championship series in October.
Before the scandal broke, Chen, Tsai Fong-an and Chang were popular players, as well as members of the national squad at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Chang was a starting pitching for Japan’s Seibu Lions from 2002 to 2006, before getting released and returning to Taiwan in 2008.
“Our society must revamp baseball in the education system,” baseball broadcaster and former national team player Yang Ching-lung (楊清瓏) said. “The student players are focused only on athletics, and we neglect their proper education in ethics and morality. Some baseball players do not understand that they must keep clean and refrain from bribes and criminal activities.”
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