The Taiwan High Court yesterday ruled against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), handing him an additional five-month jail term in a malicious accusation lawsuit related to a 2012 corruption case.
Lin has been serving a two-year sentence after the Supreme Court in August last year upheld a district court conviction for receiving a NT$63 million (US$2.04 million at the current exchange rate) bribe. He was also ordered to pay a NT$15.8 million fine.
It has been a fall from grace for the 50-year-old, who was once seen as a rising star in the KMT. He was elected legislator four times.
Lin was an important member of then-KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inner circle. In 2012, during Ma’s second term as president, Lin was named Executive Yuan secretary-general.
A judicial probe was initiated after Chinese-language Next Magazine in 2012 reported that Lin had allegedly asked for an NT$83 million bribe, of which he reportedly received NT$63 million, to help Kaohsiung-based Ti Yung Co secure a slag treatment contract from a subsidiary of China Steel Corp.
Lin at the time denied receiving the bribe and sued Next Magazine for libel, saying that the media outlet deliberately produced a false report about him.
However, evidence from the investigation, including audio recordings, showed that Lin had solicited and received the bribe.
In the first and second rulings, judges found him guilty for “holding properties of unknown origin” and related charges.
“Lin has been found guilty of malicious accusation, as despite knowing that he had received a bribe, he still went ahead and filed a libel suit against the media outlet,” the High Court said in a statement yesterday.
“Lin did not reflect on his wrongdoing and instead abused his government position and authority to convene a news conference at the Executive Yuan, at which he covered up facts related to the case,” it said.
“He attempted to use the justice system to obfuscate the truth from the public. Although he withdrew the case within a few days, he had already squandered judicial resources,” it added.
While they found Lin guilty of malicious accusation, the judges said that as he had admitted to wrongdoing in the trial, leniency was permitted in giving him a lighter five-month term instead of the three years and six months requested by prosecutors.
It was the second ruling in the case and can still be appealed.
Proceedings are still pending against Lin for charges under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) of money laundering and receiving bribes in breach of official duties, for which the High Court had ordered a retrial last year.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS