Five current and former legislators were yesterday among those found guilty of graft, exercising undue influence and related charges in a large political corruption scandal, with the Taipei District Court handing down sentences ranging from seven to 10 years.
Lawmakers and aides contravened the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) in a case linked to former Pacific Distribution Investment Co (太平洋流通) chairman Lee Heng-lung’s (李恆隆) battle with Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) over the ownership of the Pacific SOGO Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨) chain.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) was sentened to eight-and-a-half years and was ordered to forgo NT$6.2 million (US$207,984) that he accepted as bribes.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) received a sentence of seven years and eight months for coruption, with NT$1 million confiscated.
Independent Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker, was given the heaviest sentence — a 10-year jail term and NT$15.8 million confiscated for corruption.
Former New Power Party (NPP) legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) was sentenced to seven years and four months for corruption, although the evidence showed that he did not receive bribes.
Independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) was found guilty of tax evasion after receiving kickbacks from companies on property deals, the court said.
Chao illicitly reported the money as political donations, it said.
He got a six-month term, which can be commuted to a fine, and was ordered to pay NT$60,000.
Investigators found that Lee was the central figure in the corruption scandal, paying NT$36.54 million in total in bribes to legislators in exchange for holding public hearings at the legislature, putting pressure on government officials and using political influence to help his company gain ownership of Pacific SOGO Department Store, Taipei District Court spokeswoman Huang Pei-chen (黃珮禎) said.
“Lee cooperated during the investigation and agreed to be a state witness, which was pivotal in clarifying the details of the case,” Huang said. “Prosecutors requested a lenient term for Lee, combining four counts of bribery into a 14-month term, which can be commuted to a fine, and fining him NT$10 million.”
The relatively heavy sentences for Chen, Sufin, Su and Hsu were because they did not admit to wrongdoing — including bribetaking — and did not cooperate with the investigation, Huang said.
Kuo Ke-ming (郭克銘), a former aide to Su, received a two-year sentence and was ordered to pay NT$6 million, while Ting Fu-hua (丁復華), Sufin’s office director, was handed a 22-month term and ordered to pay NT$1 million, the court said.
Others embroiled in the scandal were Chen’s office director, Liang Wen-yi (梁文一), who received a five-year term and was ordered to pay NT$500,000, and Chao’s office director, Lin Chia-chi (林家騏), who was sentenced to two years and ordered to pay NT$5.99 million.
After the rulings were announced, Su said that the NT$15.8 million from Lee was a private loan and not a bribe, vowing to appeal.
When he was indicted in September 2020, the DPP suspended Su and he quit the party soon afterward.
Chen and Siluko also had their party rights and privileges suspended after their indictments.
The KMT yesterday said that their suspensions would remain in place pending the end of the legal procedures.
It urged a careful examination of the facts and for the courts to give “reasonable decisions” in the case.
The New Power Party said that it “respects the ruling from the Taipei District Court over the case involving our former chairman, Hsu Yung-ming.”
“We will take political responsibility for the case, which all party members should deem as a warning for the consequences of such actions,” it said in a news release.
“Two years ago, all of our members and supporters experienced a difficult time because of the case, but we have not given up,” it said, adding that it would win back the trust of the people and humbly accept honest criticism.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS