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Lawyer bemoans lack of progress in finance scandal
CHUNG HSING BILLS:
Chuang Po-lin said he has provided prosecutors with enough evidence to convict the PFP chairman and wonders why they aren't making progress
By Jimmy Chuang
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jun 13, 2003, Page 3
Attorney Chuang Po-lin (²ø¬fªL) yesterday urged prosecutors to resume their investigation of the Chung Hsing Bills Finance case, saying the evidence is "very obvious and worth being reviewed."
"I do not understand why prosecutors are not proceeding with their investigation since I handed new evidence to them more than two years ago," Chuang said.
"This evidence is clear enough to prove PFP Chairman James Soong (§º·¡·ì) guilty and it definitely makes it worth resuming their investigation," he said.
Chuang was the KMT's lawyer in the scandal.
During a phone interview yesterday, Chuang noted the indictment of China Development Holding Corp chairman Liu Tai-ying (¼B®õ^) for his role in 12 separate corporate scandals and said prosecutors should not focus on certain individuals due to political pressure from their superiors.
Chuang said many people believed that Liu would not be indicted due to his close links with political and business authorities. However, prosecutors still discovered plenty of evidence they believe will prove Liu's guilt and indicted him on eight charges.
The same method should apply in the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal, Chuang said.
"As long as somebody takes advantage of money which does not belong to him, this somebody has already committed the offenses of misappropriation and breach of trust, no matter who this somebody is. That is the spirit of justice," he said.
"I am quite sure that prosecutors will discover many interesting facts by investigating the evidence I presented," Chuang said. "Finding the truth is only one click away."
The scandal first surfaced in December 1999 when then-KMT lawmaker Yang Chi-hsiung (·¨¦N¶¯) accused Soong of involvement in irregular money transactions involving hundreds of millions of NT dollars.
Yang said the transactions took place during Soong's tenure as the party's secretary-general and during his time as the governor of the Taiwan Provincial Government.
In the run-up to the 2000 presidential election, the KMT decided to sue Soong for embezzling about NT$360 million in party funds and forging party seals to open bank accounts in the party's name without authorization.
The investigation dealt a severe blow to Soong's campaign.
On Jan. 20, 2001, the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office announced its decision not to prosecute Soong.
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