Print

Mail

wiki links

Palauan diplomat will not be charged over no-show

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Palau's ambassador to Taiwan, Johnson Toribiong, who recently refused to attend a local court hearing regarding his alleged involvement in investment fraud, would not face any charges because of his diplomatic immunity.

Toribiong was asked by the Taipei District Court last month to attend a witness hearing in the case of the Palauan bank, FFBC, of which he is the chairman. The bank was alleged to have been involved in the illegal selling of funds in Taiwan.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) yesterday confirmed that the ministry had received the court's request on Oct. 13 to send the summons to Torobiong. The summons, however was returned to the ministry as the ambassador was not in Taiwan and therefore could not sign for the document. The foreign ministry yesterday returned the summons to the court.

Lu said that according to Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a diplomatic representative has immunity in criminal and civil jurisdictions where his diplomatic mission resides. This includes immunity from testifying in court.

Due to the sensitive nature of the diplomatic situation of Taiwan and the diplomatic status of Toribiong, the Judicial Yuan was reported to have expressed its concern to the Taipei District Court about handling the subpoena process carefully to avoid breaching etiquette, a Chinese-language newspaper reported.

However, local prosecutors and judges reportedly disagreed with the Judicial Yuan's concerns, saying Toribiong should at least have to testify in court.
This story has been viewed 2352 times.