Prosecutor indicted on false indictment charge

Yunlin County prosecutor Liao Chun-chien (廖椿堅) and an agent of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB), Chao Pei-liang (趙培良), were indicted yesterday for falsely indicting a man for arms smuggling, in an attempt to secure a lucrative reward from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

"The two were indicted for the offense of corruption, smuggling and violation of guns, explosives and knives control, and prosecutors recommended that the court hand down the severest sentence," said Kaohsiung Prosecutor's Office spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (鍾忠孝).

The MOJ yesterday immediately announced that Liao had been suspended from his position.

Chung said Liao had been a prosecutor for Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office. In 2001, Liao and Chao allegedly knew a man named Wang Chung-tai (王忠泰), who wanted to buy a large quantity of arms and ammunition and smuggle them into Taiwan.

The two are suspected of contacting Chao Pei-liang's brother, Chao Pei-shen (趙培盛), a Kaohsiung-based gangster who was involved in smuggling rings, to go to the Philippines to buy arms and ammunition, Chung said.

When the illegal arms were sent to Taiwan by cargo ship, Liao wrote an official letter to the director-general of customs, asking for the cargo to enter Taiwan as part of an investigation.

Liao and Chao Pei-liang controlled the illegal guns and ammunition after they entered Taiwan. Then the smuggling ring called Wang and they made an appointment in a hotel in Kaoshiung County to buy smuggled arms in April 2001, Chung said.

Liao and Chao Pei-liang gave the smuggling ring the weapons in exchange for the money in the hotel. Then, Liao and Chao Ping-liang, who had stayed outside the hotel, rushed in and arrested Wang.

According to Chung, Liao and Chao Pei-liang "seized" 26 guns and 1839 ammunition, and Liao then indicted Wang for smuggling arms into Taiwan.

Liao and Chao Pei-liang then applied to the MOJ for a reward for having tracked down weapons smuggled into Taiwan.

The ministry never paid out the reward, however, as an investigation into the charges was launched last year.

During the investigation, Liao maintained that he was used by Chao Pei-liang and that he did not knowingly charge Wang wrongly.

Liao was transferred to the Yunlin Prosecutors' Office after the scandal broke last September.

Chung said Chao Pei-shen, who was previously indicted for smuggling arms into Taiwan, fled the country after getting wind of the indictment.