The Judicial Yuan yesterday said it would immediately suspend a High Court judge who was photographed meeting former Taitung County commissioner Wu Chun-li (吳俊立) while his case is under review.
Wu was charged with corruption while serving as a Taitung County councilor in 1999.
In 2002, the Taitung District Court sentenced him to 16 years in prison, but the Taiwan High Court’s Hualien branch reduced the sentence to seven years and eight months in 2003. Wu has appealed the ruling. The case is currently under review by the Taiwan High Court’s Hualien branch.
The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) ethics committee recently discovered that Judge Lin Teh-sheng (林德盛) visited Wu’s home while the case was being reviewed at the High Court. Lin is one of the judges assigned to the case.
Investigators suspect that Lin may have accepted bribes from Wu in exchange for influencing the outcome of the judicial review in Wu’s favor.
Wu was placed under investigation in May after being suspected of having relations with various individuals involved with the case.
Aside from allegedly meeting Wu, it was also reported that Lin may be having an extramarital affair. Lin has recently been photographed visiting an unmarried female friend during his lunch break.
Lin yesterday denied the allegations and said he would cooperate with the investigation.
Judicial Yuan spokesperson Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) said the Judicial Yuan had suspended Lin and reported the case to the Control Yuan so that impeachment proceedings can begin.
If Lin is found guilty of engaging in illegal activities or adversely affected the reputation of the prosecutorial and judicial system, he will be punished accordingly, Hsieh said.
Because Lin is still being probed by prosecutors and investigators, Hsieh was not able to elaborate on the details of the case.
At a separate setting, Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰) said the ministry would investigate the matter and punish any wrongdoers.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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