Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Tsai Hau (蔡豪) yesterday was given a one-year prison sentence by the High Court for his involvement in a fraudulent land deal.
Gary Wang (王令麟), chairman of Eastern Multimedia Group (東森多媒體) and son of the fugitive former chairman of Rebar Asia Pacific Group (力霸集團) Wang You-theng (王又曾), was sentenced to 22 months in jail in the same case.
The High Court yesterday said Tsai had perpetrated a breach of trust while Gary Wang violated the Business Entity Accounting Law (商業會計法).
Tsai and Wang were both involved in a land deal between Far Eastern Silo and Shipping (FESS, 遠倉) and the Taiwan Development and Trust Corp (TDTC, 台開) in 1999.
The High Court said FESS chairman Wang purchased land in Yangmei (楊梅) Township, Taoyuan County, from Chu Chieh-tseng (朱介曾) on behalf of the company for NT$845 million (US$25.3 million) in 1998, a price higher than the value of the property at the time.
Chu had bought the land in 1995 for NT$500 million.
Wang embezzled money to the value of the difference between the price paid and the actual value of the land from the firm.
The High Court said that Wang then proposed to sell the land to TDTC, and as a board member of TDTC, Tsai helped facilitate the transaction between TDTC and FESS when he pushed the board to decide to buy the land in Yangmei in November 1999.
The court said Tsai had inflated the price of the land and TDTC later bought the land at a price that was higher than the market value.
The judge ruled that Wang and Tsai stole money in under-the-table profits through the sale of the land.
TDTC and FESS lost a total of NT$1.2 billion in the two illegal deals, the court said.
Under the Criminal Law (刑法), in convictions involving minor crimes, such as a breach of trust, defendants are unable to appeal their case to the Supreme Court. Therefore, Tsai cannot appeal his sentence, but Wang is able to appeal his conviction at the Supreme Court.
Wang yesterday issued a statement following the trial, saying he would appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
When asked for his comments, Tsai said that he didn't deserve his sentence.
"Being a legislator, I should set an example and show respect for the justice system," he said. "I don't know what else I can say about the verdict as it was a matter of the court's discretion."
"I gave lots of evidence in the court in attempt to demonstrate that I did not perpetrate a breach of trust, but the judge did not listen to my evidence," Tsai said.
Tsai, whose constituency is in Pingtung County, said he would continue his campaign for the upcoming legislative elections.
However, under Article 34 of the Public Service Election and Recall Law (公職人員選舉罷免法), Tsai is disqualified from running for the election. The article stipulates that anyone who has been convicted of a crime and has either not yet started their sentence or not yet completed their full sentence are not allowed to register to be a candidate.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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