Several prosecutors have recently been detained or released on bail on corruption charges, damaging the reputation of the nation's legal system. With the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) having launched an investigation into another 27 prosecutors, the profession is coming under fire, with some saying prosecutors have too much power and that institutional flaws are behind the problems.
A lead prosecutor at Kaohsiung's Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office, Chang Hsueh-ming (
At the Taipei Prosecutors' Office and Kaohsiung Prosecutors' Office, for example, Chang said that each prosecutor handles 80 to 90 criminal cases a month. With about 100 prosecutors in each of the two offices, the head and lead prosecutors are too busy to oversee every case.
As a result, Chang said, prosecutors are able to decide whether or not to indict defendants, meaning that they enjoy more power than the law actually gives them.
After former Yunlin County prosecutor Hsu Wei-yu (
Shih has asked head prosecutors nationwide to carefully review the cases handled by their offices.
Shih acknowledged that among the roughly 1000 prosecutors nationwide, some are bound to be corrupt and he has asked head prosecutors to pay more attention to prosecutors' personal lives.
Shih said that former Chiayi prosecutor Sung Tsung-yi (
Hsu Wei-yu is another example. Evidence shows he often dined and went to hostess clubs with local police and gangsters, Shih said.
Shih said "prosecutors' personal lives can, to a certain degree, reveal whether or not they are clean."
Shih has asked head prosecutors to report to the ministry if prosecutors are found to have close relations with gangsters, those who run illegal businesses or local police.
Shih said that as part of a crackdown on bad prosecutors, the ministry has launched an investigation on another 27 prosecutors."
Chang said the nation's prosecutors have enjoyed more power since the implementation of a law in September 2003 that allows indictments to be suspended (緩起訴).
Chang said that under the law, prosecutors can suspend an indictment if the defendant has committed a minor crime or admits guilt.
Chang said the law was introduced to reduce the number of criminal cases sent through the legal system. It has effectively reduced prosecutors and judges' work burdens, but also gave prosecutors new rights.
"It is hard to prevent prosecutors from accepting bribes in exchange for suspending a defendant's indictment," Chang said.
Chang said when the law was drafted, some legal experts had been concerned that it might cause corruption problems, but the law was still passed.
Shih said that some prosecutors like to cultivate relations with police and agents of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB).
But experience has shown that this kind of cooperation often leads to collusion between the two sides.
Shih said that Hsu, who led an investigation by police into a multi-million dollar professional baseball game-fixing scandal, is suspected of betting on baseball games with the officers. Hsu is also accused of taking and sharing bribes with police officers who had worked with him for several years.
Shih said that former Kaohsiung prosecutor Chen Cheng-ta (
Shih said that two agents from the MJIB who had worked with Chen were also detained, on suspicion of being involved in the fabricated charges.
Kaohsiung prosecutors have said Chen charged the two men with weapons smuggling in order to apply for a reward offered by the ministry to those who uncovered weapons smuggling.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS