Judge accused of selling his favors

Independent legislator Lin Ruey-tu (林瑞1?/CHINESE>), known for his sometimes-questionable crusades against corruption -- most recently over the involvement of the judiciary in the investment scandal involving Taiwan Pineapple -- yesterday turned his publicity guns on a Taiwan High Court judge based in Kaohsiung.

At a news conference yesterday, Lin accused Chuang Chen (2讕?/CHINESE>), a division chief in the Taiwan High Court's Kaohsiung branch, of taking bribes from a person involved in litigation before the court and acquiring illegal loans.

Lin said Chuang borrowed more than NT$119 million from the Kaohsiung Third Credit Cooperative (高雄2?T信用|X作社) between 1995 and 1999.

Lin hinted that Chuang may have borrowed more money from the co-op than he had collateral for, saying several tracts of farmland owned by his wife in Kaohsiung City and County had been used as collateral.

However, co-op officials said Chuang had converted the tracts of land from farm into residential use before placing them as collateral.

Land designated for agricultural use usually fetches low prices due to laws prohibiting construction on such land.

Lin also accused Chuang of taking a bribe of over NT$3 million from Huang Jung-hua (黃榮華), the co-op's chairman, to rule in Huang's favor in a civil lawsuit in 1999.

Lin said Huang was accused in September 1998 by Chen Chun-hsiung (3神T雄), a supervisor at the co-op, of complicity in making illegal loans.

In October that year, Chuang filed a lawsuit against Chen in the Kaohsiung District Court for defamation. Chen lost the lawsuit and appealed the verdict to the Taiwan High Court last August.

At yesterday's news conference, Lin produced a photocopy of an NT$3.034 million check issued by Huang to Chuang's wife on Sept. 10, 1999. Later that month, Chuang was the judge in the case involving Huang, Lin said.

Chuang ruled in Huang's favor and fined Chen NT$30,000.

Chuang also held a news conference yesterday to proclaim his innocence and threatening to "get to the bottom with Lin."

Chuang claimed that the money Huang remitted to his wife was a loan.

Wu Chi-ping (吳啟賓), president of the Taiwan High Court, said Chuang's role as a judge in Huang's case was a coincidence, as judges are allocated cases through a lottery system.