The Taipei District Court has issued its verdict on a case of physical violence that took place in the Legislative Yuan in 1998, but both parties concerned expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence.
Under the verdict issued on Friday, independent Legislator Lo Fu-chu (
Lo yesterday protested what he called "political interference" in the judicial system. Yu, on the other hand, accused the judge of deliberately handing down a light punishment to help the three to avoid imprisonment.
According to the Criminal Code, a person convicted of inflicting bodily injuries can face imprisonment of up to three years. A sentence of fewer than 60 days in prison, however, can be substituted by the payment of a fine.
Lo, a convener of the legislature's Judiciary Committee who also suffered injuries in the scuffle, denounced the verdict as unfair.
"The judicial authorities accepted the one-sided story of Legislator Yu Jan-daw and never examined the videotape recording the entire course of events," Lo said.
"Now the people who injured me remain beyond the reach of the law. Where is the fairness of such a judicial system?" Lo added.
Lo said it had been inappropriate for the judiciary to get involved in the case in the first place, because he said it was a matter concerning the "autonomy" and "self-discipline" of the legislature.
"How come the judicial branch is now siding with the DPP? Does this mean politics comes before the law?" Lo asked.
The incident took place on June 15, 1998, when legislators were reviewing proposed amendments to the Farmers' Association Law (
In the middle of the meeting, some DPP legislators, disagreeing with the way the meeting was being conducted, protested to the chairman and blocked the continuation of the meeting.
Lo later joined the quarrel and started the scuffle, which involved several dozen legislators. Yu was assaulted by Lo, Lin and Chou when he tried to mediate and stop the fight.
Yu said he had filed a suit against the three legislators "because there is absolutely no self-discipline in the legislature."
"The legislature's disciplinary committee has never held a meeting, and that's why I resorted to legal means. Furthermore, physical violence isn't protected by immunity from judicial prosecution enjoyed by lawmakers," Yu said.
Yu said he would file an appeal with the court, as the sentence was too light and insufficient to curb violence in the legislature.
"Since the detention can be replaced by a fine, isn't this a skillful way for the judge to accommodate Lo?" Yu said.
Rejecting Lo's claim that the court had not collected any videotape as evidence, Yu said there were in fact videotapes provided by several TV companies which recorded the entire chain of events.
Yu said that Lo was injured when he was scuffling with other legislators.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
RSS