Print

Mail

wiki links

Top prosecutor under fire after dining with suspect

Lawmakers across party lines criticized the nation's top prosecutor for dining with the the first family's former doctor, Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥), a suspect in the Sogo voucher scandal.

"It proved that state public prosecutor-general Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) has close ties to political figures," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said yesterday.

The KMT legislative caucus questions whether Chen is able to fairly lead prosecutors in the fight against political corruption, she added.

In response, Chen told reporters he thought there was nothing wrong with dining with Huang, an old friend, saying they talked about private matters only.

Chen dined at Huang's residence on Monday evening, staying there for four hours.

A neighbor who is a Taipei judge saw Chen enter Huang's residence and later told the media about the visit. Chen admitted he met Huang at his home.

Last October, Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆), chairman of the Pacific Distribution Investment Co, was indicted on suspicion that he distributed NT$14,820,000 [US$447,320] worth of Pacific Sogo Department Store vouchers to various figures to win the bid for ownership of the lucrative retail store.

Prosecutors discovered that the first family indirectly received vouchers amounting to NT$277,000 from Huang, but said there was no evidence to indicate that Wu received the vouchers in return for acting on behalf of certain businessmen seeking ownership of Sogo.

Although Wu and Huang were not indicted in the case last October, Taipei prosecutors said they were still looking for the missing vouchers worth more than NT$10 million.

Chen's action also came under fire from his colleagues in the field.

A group of prosecutors called the Prosecutors Reform Association said yesterday in a press statement that Chen should not have dined with Huang in private given the controversy surrounding Huang.

The statement said as the nation's top prosecutor, Chen should keep a distance from politics and business.

Meanwhile, People First Party Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) called Chen "stupid for dining with Huang."

Several Taiwan Solidarity Union and Democratic Progressive Party legislators also criticized Chen.

Chen, the first prosecutor to take up the post with the approval of the legislature in January, is selecting prosecutors to form a special investigation team that will probe cases involving high-ranking officials.
This story has been viewed 2142 times.