Newly-elected independent lawmaker Chang Li-shan (張麗善) and her sister-in-law protested in front of the Yunlin District Court for a second day yesterday as they pushed for her brother to be released on bail for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Former Yunlin County commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
"I am just somebody's wife who is hoping that her husband can come home for the New Year," Wang Yueh-hsia (王月霞) said yesterday. "I hope that judges can begin to hear the case as soon as possible and allow my husband to be bailed out."
Chang Li-shan and Wang were joined yesterday by Wang's daughter Chang Chia-chun (張嘉郡) and 10 other relatives as well as Yunlin County councilors Chen Juei-hsiung (陳瑞雄), Lin Tsai-tien (林再添), Wang Shih-jen (王士壬) and Lin Yung-fu (林永福).
"My grandparents are not in good health and they simply want to have my father home for the New Year. I hope that this little wish can be fulfilled," Chang Chia-chun said.
The family members sat quietly in front of the court building despite the efforts of police officers to persuade them to go home.
"No protests or parades are allowed in the court building area. We hope that none of them have broken the law because of this," said Chen Chin-ling (陳金陵), director of the Huwei Precinct of the Yunlin County Police Department.
The investigation into the incinerator scandal began last June, when prosecutors received a tip-off from an anonymous Yunlin resident who claimed that county government officials -- including Chang Jung-wei -- had accepted a huge bribe in connection with the incinerator contract.
Last July, Linnei Mayor Chen Ho-shan (陳河山) admitted that he accepted a total of NT$18 million in bribes from contractors who wanted to ensure they would win the bid.
Chang Jung-wei went into hiding on Aug. 13 and was finally arrested by prosecutors and police officers on Dec. 9.
Yunlin prosecutors indicted him on Jan. 17, suggesting that he receive a life sentence.
By law, prosecutors are supposed to release a defendant on bail as soon as they have indicted him or her, or they can request an extension of detention for three more months.
Prosecutors asked that the former councilor remain in detention and judges granted the request immediately.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor