The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday questioned why former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) was still out helping his son campaign for the legislative by-election for the seat he had left vacant, while two other Greater Taichung politicians, who had been convicted in a corruption case along with Yen, have started serving their prison terms.
Yen was sentenced on Nov. 28 last year to three-and-a-half years in prison for misuse of public funds during his term as Taichung County Council speaker.
Greater Taichung Council Speaker Chang Ching-tang (張清堂), an independent, who was Yen’s vice speaker in the Taichung County Council at the time, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Tsai Wen-hsiung (蔡文雄), Yen’s former secretary, received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) told a press conference yesterday that Chang and Tsai started their prison terms on Dec. 22.
Chang applied to prosecutors twice to delay his sentence, but the requests were rejected.
Wang questioned why Yeh is still free and spending his time helping his son, Yen Kuan-hen (顏寬恆), with campaigning.
The 36-year-old Yen Kuan-hen is running as the KMT’s candidate.
In response, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) said that because Yen Ching-piao went to jail previously and was released on parole, now that he has received a new sentence, the Taiwan High Court has to decide the length of his prison term.
According to Chen, the Taiwan High Court’s Taichung branch has decided Yen Ching-piao should serve a three-year-and-three-months prison term, but Yen Ching-piao appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
As the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected his appeal, prosecutors should soon receive a ruling in writing from the Taiwan High Court’s Taichung branch and it will then summon Yen Ching-piao to serve his prison term accordingly, Chen said.
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