Not enough evidence was found to indict Taiwanese diplomat Jacqueline Liu (劉姍姍) over abuse of her maids in the US and violating the Criminal Code, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
The office closed the case and described it as a civil dispute because insufficient evidence was presented to support criminal charges against Liu, who was the former director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Kansas City, Missouri.
Liu was accused of abusing her two Filipino maids in the US, and faced potential charges of embezzlement, fraud and violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法).
Liu had been suspected of embezzlement because she had signed a contract with the maids to give them a monthly salary of US$1,240, but only paid them US$450 a month.
However, prosecutors found that the amount Liu paid was the amount she reported back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for reimbursement, indicating she had not embezzled funds.
Regarding the accusations that Liu’s payment of only a fraction of the contracted amount constituted fraud, the maids had agreed to the monthly salary and to have accommodation, food and insurance expenses deducted from it, prosecutors said.
Since the maids had agreed to the conditions, Liu could not be indicted for fraud, prosecutors said, noting that the circumstances involved were more suited to a civil case than a criminal one.
An investigation by prosecutors also discovered that the US$1,240 contract provided by an official at Taiwan’s representative office in the Philippines who interviewed the maids was calculated in accordance with the minimum wage in the US and included insurance, local media reported.
As for the human trafficking charges and Liu restricting the maids’ freedom with three surveillance cameras, the cameras had actually been installed in the house before she was posted to the US, the reports said.
Liu was arrested by the FBI on Nov. 10 last year, and was detained for two months before entering a plea agreement.
Under the deal, she was ordered to pay US$80,044 in restitution to the two maids on Jan. 27, and was deported to Taiwan on Feb. 15. Liu was questioned by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Feb. 22. The case has prompted the ministry to review its employment system for foreign housekeepers in the homes of diplomats stationed overseas.
The Control Yuan last month impeached Liu after it completed its probe into her case and accused her of malfeasance for having hired a Chinese woman as a housekeeper in a move it said “raised national security concerns.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS