Several bankers were found not guilty last week by the Taiwan High Court on charges of offering bribes to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in relation to a series of bank mergers.
A prosecutor yesterday said they might decide not to appeal the not-guilty verdicts to the Supreme Court, which would result in the cases being dropped.
Chen was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Taiwan High Court on Thursday for taking bribes from bankers in relation to a series of bank mergers during his eight years in office, fined NT$180 million (US$5.95 million) and stripped of his civil rights for nine years.
His wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), was sentenced to 11 years and fined NT$102 million in the same case and stripped of her civil rights for eight years.
The accused executives, including Yuanta Financial Holding Co founder Rudy Ma (馬志玲), former China Development Financial Holding Corp president Angelo Koo (辜仲瑩), Cathay Financial Holdings Co vice chairman Tsai Chen-yu (蔡鎮宇) and former Mega Financial Holding Co chairman Cheng Sheng-chih (鄭深池) were also found not guilty in the same ruling.
Only two executives were found guilty of helping the former first family to launder money — former Yuanta Financial Holding president Victor Ma (馬維建) who was sentenced to eight months in prison and granted two years probation, while former Yuanta Securities Co board member Tu Li-ping (杜麗萍) was sentenced to two months in prison and two years probation.
Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman for the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, yesterday said that according to the Speedy Criminal Trials Act (刑事妥速審判法), which came into force last year, if defendants are found not guilty in their first and second trials, prosecutors cannot appeal those cases to the Supreme Court unless prosecutors discover the not-guilty rulings are seriously flawed.
The prosecutor said that as the executives were found not guilty in their first and second trails, an appeal to the Supreme Court would likely not be made.
SID prosecutors charged the defendants in December 2009, alleging that the bankers had bribed the former president to pressure the Ministry of Finance to approve mergers during financial reforms promoted by the Chen administration to encourage greater consolidation in the banking sector.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
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