The Taoyuan District Court yesterday granted bail for a second time to former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) after rejecting a detention request from prosecutors investigating graft allegations against him.
The ruling was made despite the High Court on Monday overturning the lower court’s decision on Saturday to grant him bail.
Cheng, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, was released by the district court for a second time yesterday after paying bail of NT$12 million (US$368,777). The court also imposed limits on his movements and banned him from leaving the country.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
Prosecutors appealed the ruling at the bail hearing.
On Friday last week, Cheng was summoned by the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office as part of an investigation into alleged corruption involving a land zoning deal that occurred while he was Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022.
After questioning him, prosecutors said they suspected Cheng of accepting a bribe, leaking information to other suspects and laundering money, and filed a motion to detain him and hold him incommunicado.
He was released on NT$5 million bail the following day.
The district court said that because prosecutors had collected detailed evidence of Cheng’s alleged involvement in the corruption case, which occurred seven years ago, there was no need to detain him.
While Cheng took a NT$5 million payment that might have been related to a developer’s plans to expand the Hwa Ya Technology Park (華亞科技園區) in Linkou District (林口) in 2017, he returned the money the next year, the district court said.
There was therefore no evidence supporting charges that Cheng concealed illegal proceeds, it said.
However, Cheng’s movements would still be restricted and he was barred from leaving Taiwan, and he was also prohibited from contacting other suspects and witnesses in the case, it said.
The High Court said it revoked the original bail ruling and ordered another bail hearing because of several issues, such as why the district court ignored the possibility that Cheng might collude with other witnesses or tamper with evidence.
The DPP on Monday said it decided during an extraordinary meeting that if Cheng were detained, he would be suspended from the party for three years.
If he was found guilty in a first trial (before an appeal could be filed), there would be further discussion of punishment that could lead to Cheng being expelled from the party.
After serving as Taoyuan mayor for two terms, Cheng was vice premier from January last year to May 20, when he was appointed chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation.
He stepped down from his post on Sunday amid the corruption allegations.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS