Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) said yesterday that the ministry had launched an investigation against a senior prosecutor who was reported by local media to have frequented a South Korean casino with a gangster.
Next Magazine reported yesterday that Shen Ming-yen (沈明彥), 65, of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office, had engaged in gambling activities at a casino on Cheju Island, South Korea, in December 2002 accompanied by suspected gangster Huang Ju-yi (黃如意).
Former speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly Liu Ping-wei (劉炳偉) was also on the trip, the report said.
Shen lost more than NT$5 million (US$151,000) at the casino, while Liu lost about NT$100 million, the report said. The report added that Huang allegedly lent NT$5 million to Shen to cover his losses, of which Shen has only returned NT$1 million and refused to repay the rest.
Shih told a legislative judicial committee meeting yesterday that Shen would be severely disciplined if it was discovered that the casino trip in the company of a suspected gangster took place.
In November 2002, Huang also organized a gambling trip to Cheju Island for former deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office Chen Che-nan (
Chen Che-nan, accompanied by Chen Min-hsien, was photographed gambling at the casino and the publication of the picture by media in October 2005 triggered a probe into Chen Chen-nan's activities.
The two Chens were subsequently found guilty of corruption.
In 2003, then Taipei prosecutor Ko Chin-chu (
Ko was indicted earlier this month on corruption charges related to the bribe.
Taipei prosecutors said Huang was currently in China.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not