The Ministry of Justice yesterday granted former Taipei City Councilor and Democratic Progressive Party member David Chou (周伯倫) parole amid criticism of political interference in the decision.
Chou was convicted for accepting NT$16 million in bribe money from Chiaofu Construction Corp -- the backer of the Ronghsing Park development project -- when he was a Taipei City councilor in 1988.
In 2003 Chou was sentenced to six years in prison -- some 15 years after the crime was committed. He was remanded to Hualien Prison on Feb. 17 of that year.
"Chou has actively joined in prison activities, and he has behaved well in the prison, so the ministry decided to grant his application for parole," said Vice Minister of Justice Tang Jinn-chuan (湯金全) yesterday, in an attempt to rebuke criticism.
According to the Election and Recall Law of Civil Servants (公職人員選罷法), Chou will be unable to work as a civil servant of run for office ever again, Tang added.
Chou filed his first application for parole before the end of last year, but the ministry's Department of Corrections declined his request.
Department director Huang Cheng-nan (黃徵男) said at the time Chou "needed more rehabilitation" because his prison records showed he had broken many rules, including hiding NT$50,000 in cash in his cell and smoking and chewing betel nuts at unauthorized times, since he began his jail term at the Hualien Prison.
However, Chou filed his second application for parole in February, which was approved by the ministry yesterday.
Chinese-language newspaper reports yesterday speculated that the ministry released Chou amid political pressure, noting that other prisoners would not be released under similar conditions.
The ministry yesterday released a press statement saying Chou has served a longer prison term than one of his co-defendants, Chen Chun-yuan (
The statement, in addition, said Chou has committed no other crimes since the Ronghsing Park development scandal, and the ministry regarded Chou as unlikely to commit a such a crime again. He was released after serving just over two years of his six-year sentence.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS