A Control Yuan committee has recommended that three judges be impeached for their involvement with business tycoon Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾) while he was facing litigation in the 1990s.
The Control Yuan’s impeachment review committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to recommend the impeachment of former Supreme Administrative Court president Lin Chi-fu (林奇福), former Supreme Court chief judge Yen Nan-chuan (顏南全) and former Tainan District Court judge Su Yi-chou (蘇義洲).
The committee said in a statement that the three judges, who presided over Weng’s litigation and his appeals, were found to have had improper contact with the businessman before or after the hearings, including receiving financial benefits such as dinners and gifts.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
“Reports on the case have led to the public to think badly of the justice system and society to doubt the independence of the judiciary... The actions of the three judges have not even met the minimum ethical standards required of judges,” the statement said.
Control Yuan members Wang Mei-yu (王美玉) and Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) led the committee, while Control Yuan member Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) conducted the investigation.
If the Control Yuan approves the recommendation to impeach the judges, the matter would be forwarded to the Judicial Yuan’s Disciplinary Court, which would assess what punishment the judges should receive.
There are allegations of widespread bribe-taking, insider trading, illegal profiteering, abuse of authority, conflicts of interest and other illicit activities, as Weng first offered company stock, banquets and luxury gifts in a bid to “buy off” the judges one by one.
The Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office last year ordered Taipei prosecutors to review a 1997 financial dispute between Weng and BNP Paribas of France, as this case triggered all of the subsequent litigation, leading to a judicial corruption scandal.
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