The Taiwan High Court yesterday reduced the sentence of former Eastern Multimedia Group chairman Gary Wang (王令麟) for his involvement in the Rebar Asia Pacific Group embezzlement scandal from the 18 years given at the first trial to five years and eight months.
Wang, the son of Wang You-theng (王又曾), the fugitive Rebar Asia Pacific Group founder, was found guilty of embezzling money from various subsidiaries of the Rebar Group, the verdict said.
Wang’s attorney Chi Chen-nan (紀鎮南) said that the court gave his client a lighter sentence because he had compensated some shareholders, continues to pay compensation and has expressed regret for what he did.
In the ruling, Gary Wang’s six brothers were also sentenced; Wang Lin-tai (王令台) received eight years; Wang Lin-i (王令一) 12 years; Wang Lin-mei (王令楣) eight years and a fine of NT$25 million (US$835,000); Wang Lin-chiao (王令僑) five years and six months, and a fine of NT$10 million; Wang Lin-ke (王令可) one-year and with two years probation, and a fine of NT$2 million; and Lawrence Wang (王令興) got two years.
Wang You-theng’s younger brother, Frank Wang (王事展), received an eight-year, six-month sentence.
Wang You-theng, his wife Wang Chin She-ying (王金世英), and Gary Wang’s wife, Tsai Hsueh-ching (蔡雪卿), fled to the US and remain on the police’s most-wanted list.
Gary Wang and the other defendants were sentenced for violations of the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法), the Banking Act (銀行法), the Company Act (公司法), the Insurance Act (保險法), the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法), corruption, breach of trust, forgery and other offenses, the ruling said.
The case can still be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Wangs used a wide number of schemes to embezzle funds from their companies between 1998 and 2007.
The ruling said that Gary Wang and other family members illegally profited from the sale of a majority stake in Eastern Multimedia to the US-based Carlyle Group.
The Wangs bought shares in the cable operator before the sale to Carlyle was announced and later profited by selling them at a higher price to the private equity firm.
The sale in April 2007 was valued at US$1.3 billion.
The Wangs also embezzled NT$17.48 billion from Asia Pacific Broadband Telecom Co, a local fixed-line operator and a subsidiary of Eastern Multimedia Group.
Gary Wang and his father embezzled NT$3.59 billion from the sale of one of the group’s properties to Union Insurance Co, the ruling said.
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