The Taipei District Court summoned independent lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) yesterday for clarifying judges' questions regarding his being listed as a hoodlum.
An eight-member committee at the Taipei City Police Headquarters decided to put Lo on the national gangsters' list on Oct. 23. According to the Anti-Hoodlum Law (檢肅流氓條例), Lo must report to the court whenever judges summon him.
Lo flew to Hong Kong on Oct. 24 on what he said was a business trip. He did not come back to Taiwan until Jan. 6.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING
On Nov. 9, Taipei police sent out two summonses to Lo -- one to his office at the Legislative Yuan, and the other to his office at Tashin Securities (
Lo said he could live a happy life outside of Taiwan but chose to come back to prove himself innocent of the charges against him.
"I must thank the judges for giving me a chance to tell them everything in detail," Lo said. "Before I came here today, I was worried that my political enemies might say something untrue to hurt me. I'm glad that it didn't happen."
Lo's lawyer, Tu Ying-ta (
"To resolve these problems, I think it's a good start that Lo has a chance to tell everybody what really happened," Tu said. "At least judges have been very patient and careful when listening to Lo's testimony and in taking notes during the hearing. And after the hearing, they did not immediately decide to detain Lo ... so we have a chance to stand here and face the press."
Lo said his "nomination" as a "national gangster" has upset him.
"Most of the charges against me are not true and I was just misunderstood," he said. "Today, most questions from the judges were basically about four cases that resulted in my designation as a `national gangster.'
"The first case was my assaulting DPP lawmaker Yu Jan-daw (余政道). The second case was my assaulting People First Party [PFP] lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安). The third case was my alleged fabrication of documents to obtain bank loans and then pocket the money from Tashin Securities. The fourth case was my alleged threatening of the board members of the Jin-wen Institute of Technology (景文技術學院) for extorting money."
On June 15, 1998, Lo assaulted DPP legislator Yu Jan-daw during a legislative rumble involving several lawmakers.
On March 28 last year Lo attacked PFP lawmaker Diane Lee during a legislative committee meeting by slapping her on the face.
"For assaulting Yu and Lee I sincerely apologize because I have short temper," he said. "Plus, I was punished by the Legislative Yuan with the suspension of my duties as a lawmaker for six months and sentenced to 59 days in detention by the Taipei District Court. There is no reason to punish me for the same reason a second time. Is that fair?"
As for the Tashin and Jin-wen cases, Lo said he was obviously set up.
"I actually took over the company last April to keep the financially troubled firm afloat," he said. "How could I remove the money from a company like this then put it into my own pocket? Is that logical?
"As for the Jin-wen case, you will see what I mean when everything is cleared by the judges. I believe that they will prove me innocent. However, at this moment, it's not proper for me to discuss the case since it is being investigated."
Lo remained a lawmaker until the legislative session concluded yesterday. He did not stand for reelection last Decmber.
As Lo is no longer a lawmaker, judges will not have to ask for the approval of half the Legislative Yuan's members if they decide to order his arrest.
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