The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a not guilty verdict for the former chairman and vice chairman of United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) on charges of breach of trust and violations of accounting laws over investments in a Chinese firm.
Former chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) and former vice chairman John Hsuan (宣明智), as well as Cheng Tun-chien (鄭敦謙), head of Fortune Venture Capital Corp, an affiliate of UMC, had originally been acquitted by the Hsinchu District Court and the Taiwan High Court.
REHEAR
The Supreme Court had requested that the Taiwan High Court rehear the case.
Prosecutors yesterday said they had yet to decide whether to once again take the case to the Supreme Court.
The trio were indicted on charges of breach of trust and violating the Business Accounting Act (商業會計法) by helping UMC, the world’s second-biggest contract chipmaker, invest in China’s He Jian Technology (Suzhou) Co without first obtaining the approval of shareholders.
SUPPORT
In its ruling, the High Court said there was insufficient evidence to determine how much UMC had lost through the investment. In an addition, at the conclusion of UMC’s annual shareholders conference in 2005, shareholders had expressed their support for the investment, saying it was in UMC’s interest, the ruling said.
It also said the trio did not violate the Business Accounting Act.
Tsao, who at one point had told the court that prosecutors had abused their powers by indicting him and were wasting everyone’s time by repeatedly appealing the case, said after yesterday’s ruling that he had regained his confidence in the nation’s judiciary.
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