In a unanimous vote, the Control Yuan impeached a former High Court justice yesterday for soliciting prostitutes and gambling while on duty.
Having been impeached, Yang Ping-chen (楊炳禎), who was suspended by the Judicial Yuan in August, will face punishment by the Public Functionary Disciplinary Commission.
“Not only was his behavior against the rules and regulations governing judicial personnel, but it also dealt a heavy blow to the image of the judiciary and spoiled some of the trust the people have in the judiciary,” Control Yuan member Lin Chu-lang (林鉅鋃) said.
Control Yuan member Shen Mei-chen (沈美真) said Yang admitted that he visited prostitutes, sometimes during office hours, every two months since 2006.
Shen added that the Control Yuan also found that Yang made a large fortune from antique transactions, which is a violation of -Article 13 of the Civil Servants Work Act (公務人員服務法) that prohibits civil servants and judges from engaging in investment transactions.
The Control Yuan’s property-declaration documents showed that Yang’s property assets had increased between NT$10 million (US$325,900) to NT$20 million, Shen said, adding that Yang told Control Yuan members that the total value of his property was estimated to be NT$300 million.
“Yang could have been a successful businessman because he is good with investments, but he was not allowed to make investments, because he was a judge,” Shen said.
Another irregularity that contributed to the impeachment was Yang’s frequent gambling, sometimes even with defendants, Shen said.
According to a statement from the operator of a high-priced, call-girl ring that was raided by law enforcement officials on Wednesday in Taipei, the judge was a regular.
Additional reporting by CNA
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