Former Taiwan High Court judge Chang Ping-lung (張炳龍), who was sentenced on corruption charges, was repatriated from China to serve his prison term on Friday night, ending three years and eight months of being on the run in China.
Chang was charged with taking NT$300,000 from a plaintiff in return for delivering a verdict of not guilty. He was found guilty in previous trials before his case was assigned to a fourth retrial.
During the fourth retrial, Chang fell under suspicion of bribing former Taiwan High Court judge Fang A-sheng (房阿生), then--presiding judge of the case, when Chang was found not guilty. At a fifth retrial, however, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. That decision was his final verdict.
Chang fled to China in March 2007 before the final verdict was delivered. The former judge hid in Dongguan, Guangdong Province. After Taiwan’s judicial authority requested that China’s counterpart look for Chang, he showed no sign that he was being traced and several months ago moved to a small city in Sichuan Province. China’s judicial authority arrested Chang a few days ago and he was sent back to Taiwan on Friday night.
Prosecutors announced that Chang had been taken to Taipei Prison to begin his prison term. Prosecutors last week also indicted former judges Fang and Chang on suspicion that Chang bribed Fang.
Prosecutors requested that the Taipei District Court sentence Fang to 11 years in prison, while giving Chang an additional five years.
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