Former Changhua County Council speaker Pai Hung-shen (白鴻森) was escorted to Yunlin Second Prison yesterday to begin his 46-month jail sentence, as police continued their investigation into those who allegedly helped him escape.
“Pai did not and will not receive any special ‘treatment’ as a former speaker,” prison deputy warden Lu Mao-hsing (呂茂興) said.
Lu said Pai was taken from the detention house at about 8:30am.
Although Pai had already escaped once, the prison did not implement any stricter security measures, Lu said.
Lo Dai-chien (羅道堅), Pai’s brother-in-law and secretary at the Changhua County Council, who was convicted in the same case, was also taken to the same prison to begin his four-year-and-six-month sentence.
The former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) speaker was sentenced in May 2006 to eight years in prison on a corruption charge for misappropriating NT$890,000 to pay off friends and supporters.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court granted his appeal and reduced his sentence to three years and 10 months in prison after Pai had returned the money he stole.
Pai, who was to start serving his sentence in June last year, was diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. He was hospitalized under guard for observation and a check-up. He had heart surgery in August.
Pai escaped from the hospital on Dec. 13. Lo, Pai and their friend Yang Hao-hsiung (楊浩雄) were arrested by Chinese police on Thursday and repatriated on Saturday.
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