Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) yesterday handed himself in to prosecutors and was taken to the Taipei Detention Center to begin his prison term of four years and six months.
After agreeing to comply, Gao, 55, was accompanied from his residence in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) to the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in the early afternoon to sign the required documents.
Gao was then taken to the Taipei Detention Center in a police vehicle.
Photo: Chen Wei-tse, Taipei Times
He is on Thursday to be transferred to Yilan Prison in Sansing Township (三星).
The Supreme Court on Dec. 26 denied his appeal and upheld a 2016 Taiwan High Court ruling that found him guilty of corruption. Gao can no longer appeal the case.
A three-term DPP lawmaker, Gao has been stripped of the legislative seat he won in 2016, representing Sanchong.
The Taiwan High Court in November 2016 upheld a district court ruling which found Gao and his office assistant, Yao Liang-tian (姚糧鈿), who later changed his name to Yao Sheng-chih (姚昇志), guilty of corruption.
The Taiwan High Court sentenced Kao to four years and six months in prison and fined him NT$500,000 (US$16,243 at the current exchange rate) for improper use of influence and receiving an illegal political donation of NT$500,000 in contravention of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), while Yao was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
In 2006, real-estate agents surnamed Lo (羅) and Chen (陳) approached Yao expressing their interest in renting a plot belonging to the Ministry of Finance’s National Property Administration in Taichung’s East District (東).
The real-estate agents contacted Yao after encountering problems when negotiating with government officials.
After reaching an agreement to rent the land for daytime market use, the company paid a NT$2 million “commission” to Yao.
It was reported that Yao used NT$1 million to pay off personal debts, then put NT$500,000 into his bank account and gave NT$500,000 to Kao as a “political donation” for his campaign fund.
Gao denied the corruption and improper influence charges.
Gao and his lawyer said that Yao conducted his own illegal dealings, then turned against his boss to received a reduced sentence.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS