Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) decision to sue prosecutors involved in the investigation into his usage of a special mayoral allowance was designed to stop them from further probing the matter, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) counterpart said yesterday.
Ma, acquitted late last month in his "special allowance fund" corruption case, on Thursday filed a lawsuit against three prosecutors -- Hou Kuan-jen (
DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said it was clear that Ma hoped to use a legal technicality to prevent the three prosecutors from being involved in future investigations into Ma's other cases in accordance with the Criminal Procedural Law (刑事訴訟法).
PHOTO: CNA
"What Ma did suggests that he knew the prosecutors held some [unfavorable] clues, which is why he hastened to sue them," Hsieh said.
Hsieh said that Ma should say and do things that increase the public's confidence in the judicial system, rather than resorting to rhetoric and conduct that encourage the public to sue prosecutors.
At a separate setting yesterday, Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (
"We respect Ma's decision to sue the prosecutors ... but the judicial system is an independent institution that should never be tampered with or challenged by any politician," he said.
Ma's lawyers on Thursday accused Hou of forgery, saying that as one of the leading prosecutors in the case, he wrongly transcribed the testimony given by Wu Li-ju (吳麗洳), a Taipei City Government treasurer.
Ma's lawyers also accused all three prosecutors of abusing their power by not indicting Chen Yu-hsin (
Upon filing the lawsuit, one of Ma's lawyers, C.V. Chen (陳長文), said the lawsuit was aimed at "punishing and educating" prosecutors who abuse their power as contained in Article 125 of the Criminal Code (刑法).
The KMT caucus also threw its support behind Ma yesterday.
KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said Ma had behaved with integrity throughout his life but was indicted simply because the prosecutors had an ax to grind and abused their power by "selectively deciding their targets for indictment."
Kuo said that the lawsuit had nothing to do with Ma's campaign for the presidency but was aimed at "winning back justice" for Ma and every individual who, he said, had been victims of an unjust judicial system.
The KMT does not rule out submitting a draft bill when the new legislative session begins on how the legislature can counteract the power of the Special Investigation Task Force of the Supreme Prosecutors Office when members of the task force are found to have overstepped their authority, she said.
Ma was indicted last February on charges of embezzling NT$11.17 million from a special allowance fund designated for his discretionary use while he served as Taipei mayor from 1998 to 2006. The funds in question are disbursed to cover the mayor's job-related expenses.
While the court has acquitted Ma in the first and second trials on the grounds that he merely followed past practice and had no intent to embezzle, the special investigation team is still probing other corruption allegations against him.
Among them are cases involving the three-in-one sale of the Broadcasting Corporation of China (
Both deals took place when Ma was party chairman.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and staff writer
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS