Supreme Court Chief Justice Wu Tsan (吳燦) yesterday became the first senior judicial official to issue a public apology over a scandal that allegedly involves nearly 40 judicial workers and prosecutors who allegedly had inappropriate ties with Chia Her Industrial Co president Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾).
During an interview, Wu said: “I wish to apologize, on behalf of the Supreme Court, to other members of the judiciary and the public, because we have not done our task well.”
In 2012, Weng was sentenced to eight years in prison for breaching the Securities and Exchange Act (證券交易法). The sentence was later reduced to four months.
Photo: CNA
Last year, the Control Yuan passed a motion to impeach former Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries secretary-general Shih Mu-chin (石木欽), a friend of Weng, for allegedly breaching the Judges Act (法官法).
Shih, who until 2017 served a Supreme Court judge, did not to recuse himself from cases involving Weng and allegedly provided Weng with legal advice, investigators of the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice said.
Investigators in January said they had found that up to 40 judicial works have had “inappropriate dealings” with Weng.
Of the 20 judges involved, Lin Chi-fu (林奇福), Yen Nan-chuan (顏南全) and Wu Hsiung-ming (吳雄銘) have admitted that they have handled cases involving Weng.
Wu Tsan cited former Judicial Yuan vice president Su Yung-chin (蘇永欽) as saying that “even if one is dissatisfied with the Supreme Court, they should still retain basic respect for the court of final appeal.”
However, the Weng scandal has undermined public trust in the judiciary, Wu Tsan said.
Media reports on the case have irrevocably tarnished the court’s reputation, and in extension that of the entire judiciary, he said.
Members of the judiciary would not have to cut all personal ties, but they must be careful to keep them separated from their professional dealings, Wu Tsan said.
However, he hopes that the issue would soon subside and the court return to its daily business as court of final appeal, Wu Tsan said.
The Supreme Court has to work to gain respect by the public and the lower courts, he said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS