Six prosecutors will be added to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigation Panel (SIP) and three will be removed in a routine reshuffle, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.
Three of the new prosecutors are from the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors’ Office, while the other three are from district prosecutors’ offices. They will take up their new positions next month. SIP prosecutors Shen Ming-lun (沈明倫), Chu Chao-liang (朱朝亮) and Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠) will leave the panel and return to the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors’ Office.
There is speculation that Chu and Wu were replaced because they were censured by the Control Yuan. On Feb. 11, the Control Yuan asked the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office to remove Chu and Wu from all cases involving former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) after they violated the Prosecutors Code (檢察官守則) by having “private contact with Chen during the process of the investigation.”
Contrary to speculation, Eric Chen (陳瑞仁), the prosecutor who indicted former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), was not among the list of prosecutors to join the SIP in the reshuffle.
Combined with five prosecutors who will remain in their positions, the new panel will total 11 prosecutors who will continue to handle cases involving the former first family.
The list has been approved by Minister of Justice Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), the ministry said.
In related news, Chen’s office has scheduled an international press conference today to raise the issue of the Taiwanese government’s abuse of judicial power.
Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘), the office secretary, told reporters after visiting Chen at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城), Taipei County, yesterday morning that they would make public a statement Chen has written criticizing the regression of the nation’s democracy and the abuse of judicial power.
Former Presidential Office secretary-general Mark Chen (陳唐山) is scheduled to host the event, he said, adding that Chen Shui-bian’s legal team would also attend.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
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