The Taiwan High Court yesterday ordered a lower court to rehear a request by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to detain China Development Financial Holding Corp (
The Taipei District Court rejected the prosecutors' request to detain Liu, a suspect in the Zanadau Development Corp (新瑞都) scandal, on Nov. 28.
Taiwan High Court spokesman Tsai Kuo-tsai (
"The court's decision also means that the Taipei District Court will have to hold another hearing to review prosecutors' request to detain Liu," said Taiwan High Court spokesman Tsai Kuo-tsai (蔡國在).
"The district court may reject prosecutors' request again. It may also grant prosecutors' request this time. If judges from the district court grant the request, Liu will be summoned and immediately detained," Tsai said.
An appeal on a request for detention is essentially a request to a higher court to ask the lower court to reconsider its ruling. An appeal may be made up to three times.
Liu said that he will cooperate with the court and said prosecutors' fears are groundless.
"I did not and will not exchange information with others, escape or destroy any evidence as prosecutors fear. Actually, I am fully prepared to be summoned at any time and will tell prosecutors everything I know [about the case]," Liu said.
As of press time last night, the Taipei District Court had not decided on a date for rehearing the detention request.
Liu was first summoned by Taipei Chief Prosecutor Lin Jinn-tsun (
The company's former vice president, Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), had accused Liu on Sept. 16 of accepting a kickback of NT$1.06 billion. Su said that the amount was paid in exchange for Liu's promise to help her secure bank financing, a promise which Su said was not honored.
Prosecutors summoned Liu after discovering unusual transactions in his bank accounts.
After a 26-hour interview, prosecutors decided to seek Liu's continued detention for alleged theft, corruption and breach of trust because, in addition to the allegations made by Su, prosecutors also suspected him of unauthorized use of KMT funds. Liu was the KMT's unofficial treasurer for years during former president Lee Teng-hui's (
However, the prosecutors' request was denied by the Taipei District Court, which forced the prosecutors' office to release Liu without any charges. The prosecutors' office filed an appeal with the Taiwan High Court on Dec. 3.
Also yesterday, the prosecutor's office confirmed that Chief Prosecutor Lin Jinn-tsun (
According to the prosecutors' office, Lin was summoned as a witness in the case.
Prosecutors allege that Liu channeled US$1 million through a Manila account of Eric Lin's in 1998.
"First we need to know whether this amount was related to the Zanadau case and the financial relationship between Lin and Liu," said prosecutors' office spokesman Chen Hung-ta (
"Following Lin's interview, I think we will soon summon Liu a second time."
Lin was released without charges on Tuesday.
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