KMT lawmaker Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) yesterday questioned the legality of having his father, independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (羅福助), listed as a hoodlum. He said that the police had failed to launch a probe before listing him on Tuesday.
The younger Lo claimed that he did not know the whereabouts of his father, who he added would return to the country when the time is right for him to do so.
"To brand my father as a hoodlum is both outrageous and unconstitutional," Lo Ming-tsai told an afternoon news conference at his father's office. "As a lawmaker, he cannot be prosecuted for his outbursts of physical violence in the legislature."
Lo Fu-chu, with a reputation for fist-fighting and close ties to organized crime, has physically attacked more than a dozen colleagues on the legislative floor. In April he was suspended from the legislature for six months for assaulting People First Party legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) during a committee meeting.
"My father will be back when he sees fit," the younger Lo said, claiming that he himself lost track of his father as he has been busy touring around within his constituency to drum up support for his re-election bid.
The elder Lo flew to Hong Kong on an open-ended ticket at noon on Tuesday, hours before police authorities convened the second meeting to decide whether to officially list him as a hoodlum, as suggested by the prosecutors. Aides said he was tending to his business interests abroad and may return to Taipei today or tomorrow at the earliest.
"The police did not conduct any probe into the matter before arriving at a conclusion," Lo Ming-tsai said. "Rather, they just accepted whatever evidence the prosecutors provided."
Lo was listed as a hoodlum in line with the Anti-hoodlum Law. Police authorities based the listing on testimony regarding 14 charges filed against him.
Steve Lin (林憲同), one of the lawyers representing Lo Fu-chu, said that the law at issue did not grant prosecutors the right to report on any potential hoodlums.
"By initiating the legal action against [the elder] Lo, the prosecutors already strayed out of their proper bounds," Lin said.
"The entire case is flawed procedurally." It is now up to the court to decide whether Lo Fu-chu is dangerous enough to be deprived of his freedom.
A formal order of arrest, however, cannot stand without a vote of approval by the legislature.
The ruling DPP legislative caucus said it would endorse Lo Fu-chu's arrest, if asked to do so. The majority KMT caucus declined to take a stand, saying the question was hypothetical.
Meanwhile, Lo Ming-tsai said he would continue urging the Council of Grand Justices to rule on the constitutionality of the action against his father.
To achieve that, the younger Lo needs to get at least one third of his colleagues to sign a petition regarding the matter. He would not comment on the progress of this undertaking.
Lo's tenure as legislator will not expire until January. He was jailed for three years and seven months in the 1980s during a government campaign against gangsters.
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