Three prosecutors moved up after bribe investigation

Three Kaohsiung prosecutors who investigated the bribery scandal surrounding last year's city council speakership election will be promoted to the rank of chief prosecutor on Dec. 3.

A list of the names of people whose promotion will become effective on Dec. 3 was released on Friday, immediately after it had been approved by Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南).

According to the list, the Ministry of Justice promoted five Kaohsiung prosecutors, including Chou Chang-chin (周章欽), spokesman of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office.

Three of the five prosecutors who are being promoted were members of a five-man team that investigated the bribery scandal. They are Hsiao Yu-cheng (蕭宇誠), Yeh Shu-wen (葉淑文) and Chuang Jung-sung (莊榮松). Prosecutors Lee Jing-wen (李靜文) and Hung Hsin-shu (洪信旭) are the other two members of the five-man team that indicted 40 people, including former speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄), in the bribery scandal on April 7 this year.

"Hsiao, Yeh and Chuang will be promoted to the level of chief prosecutor because of their outstanding achievement in their positions," according to the promotion list.

As the ministry's offices were closed over the weekend, the Taipei Times has been unable to determine whether the three prosecutors' "outstanding achievement" had anything to do with their performance in the bribery investigation and why Lee and Hung were not promoted at the same time.

According to the promotion list, Chou will be promoted to prosecutor at the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office. He is currently a chief prosecutor at the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office.