Former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
Ma's lawyer, Song Yao-ming (
Song told the court that when his team examined the optical disc which contained the entire recording of Hou's questioning of Wu, Wu answered Hou's questions twice with "I don't know" or "I forgot," but Hou wrote down "that is right" or "yes."
PHOTO: AFP
Song said the statement was forged by Hou and therefore could not be used as evidence in court.
Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) acceded to Song's request that the audio recording be collated with the written statement on Monday -- the eighth hearing of the case.
"I believe the court will make a fair judgment," Ma told reporters as he left the courtroom yesterday.
PHOTO: AFP
Hou, meanwhile, rejected the accusation. He told reporters that a written testimony is not prepared in a question-and-answer format because its main purpose is to keep an account of the true opinions of witnesses.
Hou said it would not be accurate to compare the recording of the questioning with the written testimony, as Wu sometimes answered questions by nodding, adding that the deposition was handed over to Wu for confirmation after the questioning was over.
To present the recording to the press before giving it to the chief justice showed contempt for the court, Hou said as he urged Ma's lawyers to not damage public's trust in the judiciary.
Ma, the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) presidential candidate, is on trial for allegedly misusing a special mayoral allowance fund during his eight years as Taipei mayor and embezzling NT$11 million (US$333,000). He has not contested that he took the special allowance for personal use.
Prosecutors have said that between December 1998 and last July, Ma wired half of his monthly special allowance -- NT$170,000 -- directly to a personal account. They also found that Ma had NT$11,176,227 in bank accounts belonging to himself and his wife.
KMT lawmakers yesterday demanded that Hou be subjected to a judiciary investigation.
KMT caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (
If the deposition conducted by Hou was found to be fabricated, he might be guilty of forgery, malpractice and abuse of power, she said.
"We have reasonable grounds to suspect that Hou had set his mind that Ma was guilty even before he had finished gathering evidence. Ma has been framed," KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (
KMT legislative caucus whip Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) said Hou should be transferred out of the Special Investigation Task Force and referred to a judiciary investigation.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said the KMT's move against Hou was to a blatant attempt to clear Ma's name.
"It makes no sense at all to accuse Hou of fabricating the deposition," DPP caucus whip Wang Tuoh (王拓) said. "Anyone who has a basic knowledge of the law would know that a deposition is only valid after the person questioned has read the whole piece and signed it."
"If the person questioned disagreed with the deposition, he could ask the prosecutor to make changes. Only when the person questioned found the deposition to be fine would he sign it. How could a deposition be fabricated?" he said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
"They therefore came up with this tactic to interfere with the courts review of the case," Hsu said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS