Chiu Yi sentenced for southern ram raid

The High Court in Kaohsiung ruled yesterday that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) be sentenced to one year and two months in prison for attempting to break into the Kaohsiung District Court building with a soundtruck after the results of the 2004 presidential election were announced.

Chiu was originally indicted in April 2004 for criminal damage when prosecutors asked for an 18 month sentence.

Chiu, claiming political interference, yesterday said he would appeal to the Supreme Court.

He claimed he had learned from a reliable source the court would likely uphold the ruling from the district court, which sentenced him to one-and-a-half years in jail.

The verdict was handed down yesterday morning by the court's presiding judge Wang Kuang-chao (王光照), who said that the ruling was made because Chiu had reached a settlement with the eight policemen injured during the incident, giving them NT$10,000 each in compensation.

Chiu's attitude, on the other hand, had greatly improved since the first verdict, the judge said.

Footage of the incident, aired on numerous TV cable news channels, showed Chiu leading a group of protesters as they surrounded the district prosecutors' office and attempted to crash through the office's gates using a truck.