Prosecutors from the Special Investigation Panel yesterday questioned a businessman after he alleged that a detained Taiwan High Court judge had sought bribes when hearing his case.
The Taiwan High Court on June 29 sentenced former Bank of Overseas Chinese president Liang Po-hsun (梁柏薰) to 10 months in prison for helping Wang Hsuan-jen (王宣仁), former general manager of the bankrupt Chung Shing Bank, flee the country.
SENTENCED
Wang was sentenced in 2007 to six years and eight months in prison for breach of trust in connection with a multibillion-dollar loan scandal.
Liang last month told reporters that Taiwan High Court Judge Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和), who is already embroiled in another bribery scandal involving a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, had sought bribes when hearing Liang’s case as a presiding judge.
BRIBE REQUEST
Liang alleged that Chen had requested NT$3 million (US$100,000) in bribes through his lawyer, surnamed Lai, but because he only gave Chen NT$800,000, Chen, who thought the amount was too small, returned the money and convicted him instead.
Taipei prosecutors yesterday issued a notice letter requesting that Liang report to prosecutors within a few days to begin his prison sentence.
Chen was detained last month along with two other judges in another corruption scandal.
ALLEGATIONS
The three judges are suspected of receiving bribes when handling four charges against former KMT legislator and Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chih-hui (何智輝). Prosecutors believe the trio took or facilitated bribes offered by Ho in return for overturning a guilty verdict by a lower court in a corruption case stemming from his time as a legislator.
Chen was also accused by Angela Ying (應曉薇), an actress turned prison councilor, who said that Chen, working through a defense lawyer, had sought to extort NT$3 million from a defendant in a murder case. However, because the defendant was not able to raise the money, Chen sentenced him to death. Ying did not name the defendant.
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