The nation’s judicial agencies came under fresh public scrutiny yesterday, as petrochemical tycoon Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) reportedly fled overseas while the Supreme Court was processing a petition on his conviction for an insider trading offense.
It is the second time in the past few weeks a major white-collar crime felon eluded the law by fleeing Taiwan following the escape of convicted former prosecutor Ching Tien-po (井天博).
Chen, 73, is the founder of Taipei-based Ho Tung Chemical Corp (和桐化學) and is the honorary chairman of local manufacturing business association the Chinese National Federation of Industries. Chen is also a former chairman of the Petrochemical Industry Association of Taiwan.
He was found guilty of fraud, insider trading and manipulating the shares of the Tainan-based optoelectronic company HannsTouch Solution Inc (和鑫光電) and was sentenced to 30 months in prison by the Taiwan High Court, along with a fine of NT$2 million (US$60,596) in July.
Another business fraud case involving Chen, in which he allegedly joined Taiwan Youni Corp (台灣優力公司) to defraud eight Taiwanese banks through NT$1.8 billion in non-performing loans, is still being investigated. Chen had been awaiting the outcome of the trial, where prosecutors are seeking a sentence of at least seven years in prison for breaching the Banking Act (銀行法).
It was reported this week that Chen had fled across the Taiwan Strait on a fishing boat sometime in October, first heading to Kinmen Island, then taking another boat to a coastal city in China’s Fujian Province.
Chen filed a petition in August against the High Court’s guilty verdict, pleading to serve his sentence in a Hsinchu-area prison, where Chen had registered his new residence, instead of a Taipei-area prison.
After the High Court rejected his petition, Chen appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled to reject his petition on Dec. 1.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office issued a statement yesterday saying that they did not receive the Supreme Court’s rejection decision and therefore they did not take Chen into custody to start serving his prison term.
The statement said that the court did not notify prosecutors regarding the new situation of Chen’s case and therefore no officers were assigned to monitor his movements or take him into custody.
Media reports said that Chen’s flight was aimed at evading ruling on the NT$1.8 billion bank defraud case, where he was tipped off on a likely guilty verdict, which would carry a minimum seven-year prison term, and made plans to flee to China where he has several petrochemical business ventures.
TRAVEL CONFERENCE: Representatives from the two countries exchanged views on how to increase tourist numbers, with one identifying individual travel as a trend Taiwan and South Korea aim to increase the number of tourists traveling between the two countries to 3 million, government and tourism industry representatives said at a conference in Hsinchu City yesterday. The annual event was attended by Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Yen-po (陳彥伯); Tourism Bureau Director-General Chang Shi-chung (張錫聰); Taiwan Visitors Association chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭); South Korean Representative to Taiwan Chung Byung-won; Yoon Ji-sook, an official at the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; and Korea Association of Travel Agents chairman Oh Chang-hee. Global tourism is expected to soon rebound to between 55 and
HASTY PLAN: Instructors must teach in a language they are not fluent in, while students are forced to learn new subjects in a tongue they do not know, teachers said The National Federation of Teachers Unions (NFTU) yesterday urged the government to thoroughly review its Bilingual 2030 policy, saying it has caused problems in elementary and high schools, and might affect the quality of education in other subjects. The government on March 28 changed its original “Bilingual Nation 2030” plan to the “Bilingual 2030” plan, no longer aiming to turn Taiwan into a Mandarin-English bilingual nation by 2030, NFTU president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) told a news conference in Taipei. Despite the change, the policy’s budget, resources and most of its content remain the same, causing unusual scenes on campuses, he said. Cheng Chi-yi
‘STILL RISKY’: The quarantine requirement for arrivals cannot be lifted, as COVID-19 cases have been rising in Europe and the US, the minister of health and welfare said The government might consider dropping a negative COVID-19 test result requirement for travelers from low-risk countries, but lifting the quarantine requirement for inbound travelers is still risky, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. The CECC on Monday said it does not plan to further loosen border controls soon. National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital superintendent Huang Li-min (黃立民) said the “3+4” quarantine policy separates inbound travelers from family members for only three days, which is not enough to block the spread of the virus, so the government might consider changing it to a “0+7” policy. He also said that it might
Taiwanese singer Miu Chu (朱俐靜) passed away over the weekend after a battle with breast cancer, her family announced yesterday. She was 40 years old. The family wrote on Chu’s Facebook fan page that she died peacefully. “Thank you all for your concern. Miu, who was always full of laughter and always brought people positive energy with her music, left us peacefully on July 3,” the family said. The family asked for privacy at this time and said that details of a memorial service would be announced later. Chu was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She was an alumna of the TV reality show
RSS