The High Court yesterday acquitted five defendants in the 2013 Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE) pollution case, contrary to public expectations of environmental protection and social justice, Green Party Taiwan co-convener Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) said, adding that it was an example of the judicial system’s tendency to protect business groups.
The court said in its ruling that the few pollution records provided by the Kaohsiung City Government were not enough to determine the defendants’ guilt, Lee said, adding that the judicial system should recognize the difficulties environmental agencies face in ascertaining that pollution regulations have been breached, as even a single record showing irregularity is difficult to gather.
Existing regulations cannot effectively curb pollution because of lenient and delayed punishments, Lee said, calling for cooperation between judicial and environmental agencies to establish a pollution database to facilitate a speedy response and disciplinary mechanism where problems are uncovered.
Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
Environmentalist and lawyer Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said the ruling was understandable, because the time gap in the evidence provided by the city government — samples taken from the Houjin River (後勁溪) and an ASE complex in October 2013, as well as samples taken from nearby fishing ponds about 70 days later — was too big to incriminate the defendants.
The city, rather than the judicial system, was to blame, as the city government could have established more pollution testing facilities, as well as a more thorough inspection mechanism if it was determined to curb pollution, Chan said.
The city government’s decision to allow the ASE plant to resume operations was opaque and invited suspicion over whether it really intended to discipline the company.
Separately, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Derek Chen (陳金德) said that although ASE saw no judicial punishment in the second ruling, it does not mean the company is without responsibility.
“I hope all businesses shoulder their social responsibility to obey the law and mend their ways after wrongdoing,” Chen said.
“No matter whether it is the Water Pollution Control Act (水污染防治法) or the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), it has always been difficult to gather evidence for a prosecution’s case, resulting in only light punishment in the past,” he said, adding that previously the maximum fine allowed by the water pollution act was NT$600,000 (US$18,022), but following an amendment was raised to NT$20 million.
“This case should prompt companies to show more concern and better protect land, rivers and water resources,” Chen said. “I hope they can take up their responsibility and put more resources into pollution control and prevention.”
Chen said that the city government in 2013 fined ASE NT$100 million over improper business proceeds according to the Administrative Penalty Act (行政罰法), but the company filed for administrative litigation and a decision on the case is pending.
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