Court ruling deals `revolving-door' rules a setback

A retired high-ranking public official was acquitted yesterday of violating the government's so-called "revolving-door" work restrictions.

The revolving-door article prohibits any public servant from taking a position in the private sector that is directly related to positions they held for the last five years they were in the civil service.

Huang Nan-yuan (黃南淵), former director of the Construction and Planning Administration under the Ministry of the Interior, left his post in January 1999. He was indicted after he began working as a supervisor at Kuoyang Enterprises (國揚實業), a construction business, in April that same year.

Huang the first former official to be indicted under the revolving-door article since it was made part of the Public Service Law in 1996.

However, the Taiwan High Court affirmed yesterday that Huang was not guilty of the charge because it found that his new employer was not supervised by the Construction and Planning Administration.

Under Criminal Procedure Law, either the defense or prosecution can appeal to the Supreme Court for cases involving misdemeanors punishable by a maximum of three years.

Violation the revolving-door article is punishable by a maximum of two years imprisonment.

The court also noted that public servants' future working opportunities must be protected.