A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker who was hit in the head by a timer earlier this month wants to have his day in court and has rejected efforts to reach an out-of-court settlement.
The Central News Agency reported that KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) was not swayed by a court hearing yesterday where the judge urged him to settle on the assault charges stemming from a legislative quarrel.
The brawl, which took place on July 8, started after lawmakers disagreed on how the controversial Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) would be reviewed.
During the melee, legislators from both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) splashed water and punched and kicked one another.
At the same time, members of the DPP caucus attempted to climb up to the speakers’ podium, which was heavily guarded by KMT lawmakers.
Wu and DPP Legislator Kuo Wen-chen (郭玟成) were later sent to the hospital.
Kuo suffered a broken rib after falling off the podium in the scuffle with KMT legislators, while Wu received eight stitches on the corner of his right eye after being hit by a 1.1kg timer — later discovered to have been thrown by DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲).
Huang has since said he would accept full responsibility for the incident, “regardless if its repayments or any other responsibilities.”
His actions have been condemned by the DPP caucus.
Speaking after the court hearing yesterday, Huang said he had meant no harm, and that he had been “caught up in the moment.”
He said he hoped the court would be lenient.
However, Wu said the reason he filed the lawsuit was not because of a personal grudge against Huang, but to stop similar incidents taking place on the legislative floor.
Meanwhile, Kuo has said he would not file charges against the KMT legislator who injured him.
The efforts for a settlement came a day after another pair of legislators settled a two-year court case that saw DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) accused of slapping KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) in the face.
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