`Scandal buster' cleared in new defamation case

A case of defamation brought by a judge against independent lawmaker and self-proclaimed "scandal buster" Lin Ruey-tou (林瑞圖) was dismissed by the Taiwan High Court yesterday.

Lin Fu-tsun (林富村), a former high court judge, filed a case against the lawmaker two years ago in which he charged the lawmaker with maliciously accusing him of being associated with organized crime syndicates.

The lawmaker's accusations stemmed from a case involving the former judge in investments at a construction company that exceeded legal limits.

Lin Fu-tsun was disciplined by the self-regulation body of the Judicial Yuan, transferred to the Kaohsiung branch of the high court in April 1998 and has been suspended from office since April 1999 as a result of the investment case.

The former judge referred to an interpellation session of the Taipei City Council in April 1998, in which Lin Ruey-tou, then a city councilor, accused the judge of having close connections to gangster rings to obtain money through illegal enterprises.

At the interpellation session, Lin Ruey-tou questioned Taipei City Government officials over allegations of corruption in relation to building projects for Ta-an Park in Taipei City. Lin Ruey-tou questioned whether officials responsible for contracting the projects were prejudiced in favor of a construction company, of which the judge and his wife owned 50 percent of the shares.

The judge and the lawmaker previously faced off in court in 1992, when the judge sued Lin Ruey-tou for slander. That time Lin Ruey-tou was sentenced to 50 days in jail.

Since then, the lawmaker has often talked about the 1992 case with anger and accused his rival of pressing his colleagues in the judiciary who tried the case to rule in his favor.

At the 1998 interpellation session, Lin Ruey-tou again raised his previous disputes with the judge and alleged he was sentenced to 50 days because the trial judges were afraid of Lin Fu-tsun because of the latter's close connections with gangsters.

Furious at the legislator's remarks, the judge again took Lin Ruey-tou to court charging him with defamation.

However, the lawmaker was able to escape the charges under regulations stipulating that elected representatives are exempt from liability for what they say in the chamber.

The high court, upholding the lower court ruling, decided yesterday that Lin Ruey-tou was not guilty of the charge as he was immune from prosecution when he made the statements in question.