Taipei prosecutors yesterday denied reports that a former Taiwan High Court judge convicted of corruption had disappeared and said they had him under surveillance to make sure he did not flee the country before serving a prison term.
Former Taiwan High Court judge Lo Chi-hsiung (羅紀雄) was indicted for corruption in 1994 for receiving NT$1 million (US$30,000) from a defendant in his court. After a long legal process, Lo on Aug. 26 received a final sentence of 11 years in prison.
Prosecutors ordered Lo to present himself to begin his prison term on Sept. 17.
Prosecutors yesterday denied reports by media that agents of the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau had lost track of Lo since Thursday.
Lo on Saturday made a phone call to prosecutors and reported to them, prosecutors said, adding that they had the situation under control and that they knew his whereabouts.
Lo allegedly told prosecutors that he found it “bothersome” to have agents follow him closely whenever he left home.
Prosecutors have a long history of being concerned about criminals fleeing abroad, often to China.
Chang Ping-lung (張炳龍), another former Taiwan High Court judge who was given a 12 year prison sentence for taking bribes, fled the country months ago before the final verdict in his case could be delivered.
Other white collar criminals who fled the country before beginning their jail term or receiving a final verdict include former Rebar president Wang You-theng (王又曾), former Tuntex Group chairman Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) and former An Feng Group (安峰集團) president Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄).
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