The Taipei District Court yesterday allowed Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) and his office director, Yu Hsueh-yang (余學洋), to post bail of NT$10 million (US$351,964) and NT$1.5 million respectively, for their alleged involvement in a dispute over the ownership of Pacific SOGO Department Store.
Su and Yu, who had been detained since September last year, would be allowed to return to their residences, but would be prohibited from leaving the country and required to report to police offices in their respective residential areas every Monday evening — in Pingtung City for Su and in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) for Yu, the court said.
Su, along with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko (廖國棟), as well as independent legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) and former New Power Party legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), are accused of taking bribes from former Pacific Distribution Investment chairman Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The payments were allegedly to help Lee in a legal dispute with Far Eastern Group over the Pacific SOGO ownership.
Su’s office yesterday said in a statement that recent media reports about him misrepresented his role in the dispute, adding that the court would find him not guilty and restore his honor.
Su never accepted a “red envelope” related to the matter, the office said.
Additional reporting by Peng Wan-hsin
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