Prosecutors yesterday appealed a Taipei District Court ruling the day before to release several defendants involved in a graft case, including two senior judges, on bail.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Panel (SIP) said that with solid evidence against the two former Taiwan High Court judges — Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和) and Tsai Kuang-chih (蔡光治) — it believed the two would face steep sentences.
“If the two are released, they can collaborate with others and jump bail. If they are to flee the country, it will be difficult to carry on the trial or implement the sentence, thus seriously compromising judicial authority,” the SIP said.
The Taipei District Court said on Thursday that although the key defendant in the case, former Miaoli County commissioner Ho Chih-hui (何智輝), was hiding overseas and had yet to face trial, this could not be used as a justification for detaining the defendants.
Both Chen and Tsai were granted a NT$2 million (US$69,000) bail, while three others, lawyer Chiu Chuang-hsun (邱創舜), his wife Duan Mei-yueh (段美月) and Tsai’s girlfriend Huang Lai Jui-jen (黃賴瑞珍), were released on bail ranging from NT$600,000 to NT$1.5 million on Thursday.
Although the five were released, the court barred them from leaving the country and set the next hearing for Feb. 10.
The case involving Chen, Tsai and a prosecutor is considered the worst graft scandal to involve senior members of Taiwan’s judiciary in years.
Prosecutors indicted 13 individuals in two separate cases in November, seeking a jail term of 24 years and a fine of NT$1.5 million for Tsai, who is accused of taking bribes in a corruption case against Ho.
They asked for 18 years and a NT$1.5 million fine for Chen and 11 years and a NT$2 million fine for High Court judge Lee Chun-ti (李春地), both of whom were charged with graft.
Taiwan must first strengthen its own national defense to deter a potential invasion by China as cross-strait tensions continue to rise, multiple European lawmakers said on Friday. In a media interview in Taipei marking the conclusion of an eight-member European parliamentary delegation’s six-day visit to Taiwan, the lawmakers urged Taipei to remain vigilant and increase defense spending. “All those who claim they want to protect you actually want to conquer you,” Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Soboliev said when asked what lessons Taiwan could draw from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Soboliev described the Kremlin as a “new fascist Nazi regime” that justified
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which stipulates that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican US Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude China from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China
‘T-DOME’: IBCS would increase Taiwan’s defense capabilities, enabling air defense units to use data from any sensor system and cut reaction time, a defense official said A defense official yesterday said that a purported new arms sale the US is assembling for Taiwan likely includes Integrated Battle Command Systems (IBCS). The anonymous official’s comments came hours after the Financial Times (FT) reported that Washington is preparing a US$20 billion arms sale encompassing “Patriot missiles and other weapons,” citing eight sources. The Taiwanese official said the IBCS is an advanced command and control system that would play a key role in President William Lai’s (賴清德) flagship defense program, the “T-Dome,” an integrated air defense network to counter ballistic missiles and other threats. The IBCS would increase Taiwan’s
NOMINAL NEWLYWEDS: A man’s family and his wife — his long-term caregiver — are engaged in a legal dogfight over the propriety and validity of the recent union A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled. According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent. Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children. His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999,
RSS