Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) yesterday rebutted media reports that she held a secret meeting with prosecutors in an attempt to oust State Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) from the ministry.
The Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine yesterday reported that Wang met prosecutors from the Supreme Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP) on May 18, excluding Chen and violating the code of ethics by getting involved in individual cases.
The magazine reported that Wang asked prosecutors to protect the reputation of the heads of major companies when probing the second financial reform.
The prosecutors are still investigating allegations that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), received bribes from several banks in exchange for favors during the former president’s second financial reform program.
When Wang was asked during a meeting whether Chen Tsung-ming was right for the job, she reportedly said: “It’s not a problem to suspend the state public prosecutor-general.”
The ministry held a press conference yesterday morning to clarify the matter.
Wang denied the reports, saying that when she met the Control Yuan, she only discussed “facts” and “legal issues,” and never mentioned anything about Chen Tsung-ming.
“The media reports are completely false,” she said.
A statement issued by the ministry said: “Minister Wang could not and would not suggest that [Chen Tsung-ming] be suspended from his post or that someone else take his job.”
Deputy Minister of Justice Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) said he and Wang had indeed met with several SIP prosecutors, but it was at the request of SIP spokesperson, Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) and Yueh Fang-ju (越方如), who hoped to arrange the meeting to “improve bilateral communications” within the ministry.
Huang said they discussed areas where SIP prosecutors needed the ministry for assistance and did not discuss any particular case.
“The SIP needs the ministry’s assistance in areas including mutual cooperation, gag orders that prohibit prosecutors from discussing a case outside the court, and on the allocation of manpower,” Chen Yun-nan said.
SIP prosecutors decided amongst themselves which prosecutors would attend the meeting, which Chen Tsung-ming already knew about, Huang said.
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