The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the guilty verdict in an appeal of the case against former prosecutor-general Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), who was convicted of illegally wiretapping a female prosecutor in 2013.
Huang was found to have violated Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Lin Hsiu-tao’s (林秀濤) “right to privacy,” with the court ordering Huang to pay compensation of NT$100,000 (US$3,278) to Lin.
Huang was originally ordered to pay Lin NT$300,000 in the first ruling. The court yesterday lowered the fine and ruled that Huang does not need to issue a public apology, as requested by Lin in her lawsuit.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Yesterday’s decision was the second and final ruling in the case, which cannot be appealed under normal judicial procedures, but Huang’s lawyer, Lo Ming-tong (羅明通), said he would consider filing an extraordinary appeal or applying for a retrial.
The case came about after then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) ordered then-prosecutor-general Huang to investigate allegations of influence peddling involving then-legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
Huang instructed Special Investigation Division agents to wiretap telephone conversations between Wang, Ker and other officials, then reported the content of the conversations to Ma.
Huang was convicted in 2015 for illegally disclosing information about a case under judicial investigation to Ma and then-premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), violating the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法).
It was found during the investigation of that case that Huang had improperly wiretapped telephone conversations between Lin and her daughter in 2013. At that time, Lin was the prosecutor in charge of a probe into alleged influence peddling by Wang and Ker.
In the first ruling on the case in October last year, the Taipei District Court convicted Huang of violating Lin’s “right to privacy” by disclosing Lin’s conversations with her daughter to Ma in a report, which had resulted in damage to Lin’s reputation.
However, the court denied Lin’s request for NT$1.415 million compensation, with the judges ordering Huang to pay NT$300,000.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary