As reports surface alleging that the Ministry of Justice is covering up an ongoing scandal involving members of the judiciary, Minister of Justice Yeh Chin-fong (
Responding yesterday to challenges over her resolve in handling the case, Yeh said she would not allow any attempts at a white-wash, and has ordered State Public Prosecutor General Lu Jen-fa (
"Lu is one of the few persons thought appropriate to take charge, given the fact that the State Public Prosecutor General's Office of the Supreme Court is the only agency whose prosecutors have not been linked to the misconduct," Yeh said.
DPP legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Two of the prosecutors named by Lee are from the Public Prosecutors' Office of the Taiwan High Court. The other, Ho Chun-ying (
At a closed-door meeting with the minister yesterday, members of the Prosecutors' Reform Association (
"We were told that a few higher-level prosecutors have also played a part in the scandal, which made us suspect existing investigations by district prosecutors will not reveal the true extent of the case, said Liu Wei-tsung (
Association members also pointed out that the government ethics department is not qualified to handle the case because its own prosecutor is suspected of misconduct.
Yeh said she did not agree, but stressed it was both her own and the association's goal to find out the whole truth -- which now involves not only district prosecutors but High Court prosecutors too.
Yeh said she has requested Lu find a means by which impartiality can be maintained during the investigation, to ensure that its findings are just. Ho, because of his suspicion of misconduct, will no longer take part in the investigations, Yeh said.
It is very rare for the Prosecutor General to oversee matters concerning the ethics of public officials, analysts said.
Last November, a legislator disclosed that judges and prosecutors were engaged in illicit transactions of Taiwan Pineapple stock, coinciding with an existing investigation into suspected insider-trading at the company.
Though many had thought the scandal had been fully exposed, further disclosure of information on Thursday has widened the scope of the high-profile judiciary scandal.
In releasing Lee Yu-huei's bank records, Lee Wen-chung drew attention to the fact that Ho, High Court prosecutor Chen Wei-lien (
Also under suspicion is money Lee received from Yang Kuei-sen (
Lee accused the district prosecutors involved of not dis-charging their duties properly -- questioning why they did not take any action after receiving the information revealed on Thursday.
Lee Wei-chang (李韋昌), one of the three prosecutors in charge, said yesterday that he could not find any evidence that the three prosecutors have been engaged in transactions involving Taiwan Pine-apple stock -- adding that there is nothing unlawful about their relationships with Lee Yu-huei.
Other prosecutors are apparently worried that the collective image of the judiciary will be further tarnished.
"We will not allow any more cover-ups. Are we going to wait for another two months and for another legislator to disclose further information on the scandal?" Liu asked.
"Should such a situation arise, I'll be ashamed to call myself a prosecutor," Liu said.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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