The Taiwan High Court yesterday acquitted former judge Lin Te-sheng (林德盛), 63, reversing a guilty conviction handed to him for bribery in a 2005 narcotics case.
Lin was a judge at the Hualien Branch of the Taiwan High Court in 2005, when he was accused of taking bribes totaling NT$1.7 million (US$56,704 at the current exchange rate) in exchange for granting bail to a suspect surnamed Lee (李), who was being investigated for possessing heroin and other illegal drugs.
In the first ruling, the Hualien District Court convicted Lin of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and handed him a 13-year prison term, which Lin appealed.
Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
The High Court cited uncertainties in the witnesses’ testimony and a lack of concrete evidence as reasons for acquitting Lin.
It said Lin’s earlier conviction was mostly based on testimony given by the suspect’s wife, as well as two witnesses, surnamed Ho (何) and Chien (簡), who allegedly handed the bribe money over to Lin in 2005.
Ho was wanted on a separate criminal case, but fled to China to evade prosecution, and only returned to Taiwan in 2013.
The High Court questioned the reliability of Ho’s statement, as he had difficulty recalling details that had happened eight years ago.
The court added that it was uncertain whether Lin had solicited the bribe, or whether Ho had approached him.
Prosecutors can still file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
Lin has previous convictions. The High Court last year found him guilty of corruption and sentenced him to 10 years and six months in prison for a 2005 drug trafficking case involving a man surnamed Tseng (曾).
An investigation found that Lin, who was presiding over the case, had taken a bribe from Tseng’s wife and acquitted Tseng, reversing the 20-year sentence handed to him by a lower court.
In September last year, Lin was convicted of leaking confidential information from a prosecution case he had presided over, and had to serve a one-year sentence.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never