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
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS