The Supreme Court yesterday ruled against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when it rejected his appeal against the Taiwan High Court’s ruling to keep him behind bars.
On Sept. 24, Presiding Judge Teng Chen-chiu (鄧振球) and two other judges of the Taiwan High Court ruled in Chen’s appeal to keep him detained for another three months because they said the crimes he has been found guilty of were serious and, as a former president, he has more channels to flee the country than an ordinary citizen. The judges also expressed concern about the large amount of money and other assets the former first family has overseas.
Chen then filed an appeal of the detention ruling, which was approved by the Supreme Court on Oct. 8.
The Supreme Court judges ruled that the High Court judges should reconsider whether their reasons for detention were sufficient and to hold a second detention hearing.
The High Court then ruled for a second time that Chen should be kept behind bars. Chen again filed an appeal against the High Court’s second ruling.
However, the Supreme Court said in its ruling yesterday that the reasons listed by the High Court were adequate, including flight risk and allegations of serious crimes.
After learning of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Chen’s attorney Shih Yi-ling (石宜琳) said he respected the court’s decision, but would soon request that the Council of Grand Justices rule on the constitutionality of a clause in the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) that does not limit the number of times a defendant of serious crimes can have his or her detention extended.
Because the Supreme Court’s ruling is final, the former president would most likely have to stay at the Taipei Detention Center until next month, when the High Court will hold another hearing to decide whether to extend Chen’s detention.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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