A British businessman who was indicted by prosecutors over his alleged involvement in a fatal hit-and-run in Taipei City yesterday called for a fair justice system and fair media coverage for foreigners.
Zain Dean, 39, chief executive officer of NCL Media UK’s Taiwan branch, has lived in Taiwan for 16 years.
During a press conference with his client, attorney Billy Chen (陳達成) said Dean’s case had been exaggerated by media, which portrayed Dean as a bad person. As a result, the expatriate community in Taiwan has grown concerned about whether Dean would have a fair trial.
E.F. Einhorn, who represents US Republicans in Taiwan, told the press conference that every person should have a chance at fair justice and that a man or woman is innocent until proven guilty, the principle of innocence in law.
Jerome Keating, a professor at Huafan University, said the expatriate community in Taiwan and abroad has been concerned about the case. They think it has been manipulated and turned into a social event, which is very unfair to Dean’s trial and reputation, he said.
Keating said the evidence provided to court by prosecutors differed from information police offered to media, but the media only listened to the police and presumed Dean was guilty.
Dean said he was shocked by the treatment the Taiwanese media have given him throughout the incident.
“As I completed the police interview and walked out from the Da-an Precinct, reporters rushed to me and they [had] found me guilty already,” he said.
Dean also maintained his innocence, saying he was not driving the car when the accident occurred.
As for allegations that Dean had two foreign passports and could flee the country using one of them, Chen showed a document issued by the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei showing that Dean is a British passport holder, valid until Sept. 16, 2012. Although Dean has had other passports, they have all expired and are no longer valid, Chen said.
In April, Taipei prosecutors charged Dean with offenses against public safety, involuntary manslaughter and hit-and-run, and asked for a sentence of two years and six months in jail.
Prosecutors said Dean denied involvement in the accident, saying he had been drinking with friends at a hostess bar until the early hours of the morning on March 25 and that as he was drunk, he was driven home by a pub worker and had no recollection of the accident.
Dean said he was sitting in the passenger seat.
Prosecutors said the bar worker denied driving him home, adding that Dean asked him to get out of the car several minutes after leaving the pub.
The pub worker has also denied involvement in the accident.
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