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Former Taipei judge found innocent in TV host bribe case

A former Taipei District Court judge was found innocent yesterday in a case in which he was charged with accepting a bribe.

Taipei prosecutors also decided not to indict TV show host Hu Gua (胡瓜) in the same bribery case.

Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said although Hu and his daughter's boyfriend Lee Chin-liang (李晉良) had contacted a man named Liang Chia-yao (梁家堯) about bribing the judge, Hu and Lee had not paid Liang any money, and therefore the pair had not commited any crime.

Hu was acquitted in January by former Taipei District Court judge Wu Meng-liang (吳孟良) on charges that he had installed hidden cameras in his residence in order to cheat fellow gamblers during high-stakes mahjong games.

But the Taipei District Court later received letters of complaint saying Wu had accepted a bribe of NT$10 million (US$303,030) to acquit Hu on Jan. 11.

"I am happy that the prosecutors cleared my name in this case," Wu told a press conference yesterday.

Liang was indicted yesterday on charges of fraud and prosecutors asked the Taipei District Court to sentence him to 18 months in jail.

Liang, Wu's senior high school classmate, went to Hu and Lee, saying he could function as a go-between for Hu to bribe Wu.

To win their trust, Liang invited Wu to a coffee shop last July, so that Lee could sit next door and watch the judge and Liang's coversation.

Liang then told Hu and Lee he was a close friend of Wu and was able to make a deal.

But because Hu remained suspicious of Liang, he did not pay any money.

Hu's mahjong cheating case is pending in the Taiwan High Court.
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