Taipei prosecutors said yesterday they were reviewing an application by former China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) chairman Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) who asked that the ban on him leaving the country be lifted.
Liu’s defense attorney, Chen Sung-dung (陳松棟), said that Liu has been prohibited from leaving the country by prosecutors since August 2004 for his involvement in the embezzlement of a fund at National Security Bureau. Because the probe has been delayed, Liu has been unable to leave the country for about four years, Chen said.
Chen said yesterday that as Liu wants to go to China to attend a religious activity, he hopes the prosecutors could lift the ban against him.
The prosecutors had not made their decision at press time.
Liu was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison on Friday by the Taiwan High Court for his role in the Zanadau scandal.
The high court said Liu was found guilty on seven counts.
He was sentenced to one year and 10 months for breach of trust.
In accordance with the Criminal Code (刑法), the defendant is unable to appeal a ruling for breach of trust to the Supreme Court, as only prosecutors could file an appeal with the Supreme Court on this part.
Prosecutors said yesterday they were still pondering whether or not to appeal to the Supreme Court. If the prosecutors chose not to, Liu would have to serve the one year and 10 months sentence behind bars.
The Zanadau case first came to light when Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), a majority shareholder in Zanadau Development Corp (新瑞都), organized a press conference at the Legislative Yuan on Sept. 16, 2002. Su said she had paid a bribe of NT$1.06 billion (US$32 million) to Lawson Corp (正暐) president Lee Ming-che (李明哲), a close friend of Liu, in return for Liu’s promise to help secure bank financing in 1995. The plan was for Lee Ming-che to share the money with Liu once the deal was completed, she said.
Lee Ming-che told Su that he would forward the money to Liu, but Su never found out whether Liu received the money.
Su never received the promised bank loan.
Su approached Liu for help at the time because Liu was chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Investment and Business Management Committee.
Liu was once the treasurer of the KMT, albeit unofficially, and was a close friend of then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
He is widely thought to have had absolute control over the KMT’s assets during Lee’s presidency.
Su accused Liu of breaking his promise after accepting the kickback.
Prosecutors indicted Liu on 12 charges in June 2003.
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