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Prosecutors want PFP firebrand Chiu Yi jailed for attack

Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted People First Party Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) for damaging public property and will ask for an 18-month jail sentence.

Prosecutor Huang Chun-chia's (黃俊嘉) indictment said that Chiu led a group of protesters to surround the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office immediately after the results of the March 20 presidential election were released, encouraging the crowd to force their way into the compound by assaulting police and ramming them with a truck.

"Chiu, as a legislator, took advantage of his position and encouraged the public to protest violently. His behavior has seriously damaged the image of the justice system and shall be severely punished," the indictment said.

Chiu is already serving a two-year suspended sentence for violating the Election and Recall Law (選罷法) last year. He was sentenced to three months in jail for the offense but the judges opted for the lighter sentence.

If Chiu is convicted this time, his suspension will likely be canceled and the three-month sentence added to whatever punishment he receives.

Chiu called a press conference after the prosecutors made the announcement. He claimed that the indictment was political.

"The prosecutors decided to indict me before they had really talked to any witnesses," Chiu said. "People who were there with me all knew that I didn't do whatever it was they said I did."

Chiu's remarks were rebutted by Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗).

"In addition to our evidence, Chiu's behavior was clearly caught on tape by photographers who were covering the story at the scene that night," Lin said. "Prosecutors will never indict anybody over nothing."
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