Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) yesterday said the judges presiding over his case were biased, after the Taiwan High Court found him guilty in a defamation lawsuit filed by Hung Chi-kune (洪智坤), a former aide of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Wang insinuated that Hung received a bribe from Taipei Dome contractor Farglory Group (遠雄集團) in exchange for pushing the project through the city government, the court said in its ruling.
It sentenced Wang to 50 days in prison, which can be commuted to a fine of NT$50,000 (US$1,562).
The ruling was final.
Hung had also filed a civil lawsuit against Wang, asking for NT$2 million in damages and a public apology from Wang, to be published in the nation’s major newspapers.
The court is to hand down its decision in that case in February.
Wang, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said he disagreed with the ruling.
“The judges conducted only one trial hearing and they handled the case in a sloppy way. They did not examine all of the evidence,” he said.
“They asked me the identity of the informant who provided the evidence that Hung had received a bribe from Farglory Group,” he said.
“I could not divulge that because I had to protect my source. I had given them an assurance and I could not tell the judges, as I had to uphold my integrity,” Wang said. “It was also to protect freedom of speech. The insinuation against Hung was part of the public discourse on the leaking of confidential materials from the city government’s internal meetings.”
Wang had been at odds with Ko, with both men having numerous quarrels, as the DPP councilor frequently leveled criticisms directed against the mayor and his deputies.
Wang yesterday said that Ko had tried to join the DPP in an attempt to use the party’s resources to win a second term as Taipei mayor in the next municipal election.
Wang said that Ko sought help from a senior DPP official to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss the plan earlier this year.
Asked by reporters, Taipei City Government officials yesterday refused to comment on Wang’s claim.
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