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Embezzlement suspect still missing

Taipei prosecutors yesterday said that they have not made any significant progress in tracking down the suspect in the embezzlement of NT$3 billion from Lee and Li Attorneys-at-Law.

The case hit the headlines on Oct. 15, when the law firm held a press conference to announce that one of its senior legal assistants, 41-year-old Eddie Liu (劉偉杰), had allegedly embezzled NT$3 billion and disappeared in August.

Prosecutors listed Liu as a wanted person on Oct. 17. They later discovered, however, that Liu had fled to Hong Kong on Oct. 9 after reportedly converting the stolen funds into diamonds. Investigators have also come to believe that Liu's father, Liu Jung-hsien (劉榮顯), a suspect in a financial fraud case and sought by the Taipei District Court since 1993, may be the mastermind for the crime.

At the Oct. 15 press conference, Paul Hsu (徐小波), one of the partners and founders of Lee and Li, said that Eddie Liu had asked in August for a 12-month leave of absence to prepare for the bar exam.

"Of course I would approve such a request," Hsu said. "We always want to see our employees move on to a better future. But not like this, not like what Liu did."

Liu has a bachelor's degree in law from National Chunghsing University and had worked for the firm since December 1989.

The firm has never said where the money was embezzled from, but the prosecutors' investigation showed that it came from one of the firm's clients -- the California-based SunDisk Corp, the biggest maker of flash-memory cards used in digital cameras and music players.

Liu was authorized to handle SunDisk's investments in Taiwan's stock market and he allegedly sold shares without authorization and pocketed the proceeds.

On Oct. 24, Tony Huang (黃室華), who claimed to be Liu's lover, held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan with the help of People First Party Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華)

Huang told reporters that he and Liu had been lovers for more than 10 years and Liu had given him a "huge amount" of money in August, although he refused to disclose the exact amount.

After the press conference, Huang went to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office and said that he wanted to tell the prosecutors everything he knew about the case and would love to return the money he received from Liu if it was confirmed to be part of the embezzled funds. The prosecutors, however, refused to see him.

"We have not decided that Huang is involved in the case and we did not summon him, either. As a result, he is currently not relevant to the case," said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), the spokesman of the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.

"We will summon him when we need him," Chen said.
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