Former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) denied all wrongdoing today as he made his first court appearance for corruption charges in Taoyuan.
The former Taoyuan mayor did not speak to the media as he arrived at the Taoyuan District Court at 9:30am today.
Photo: CNA
Cheng is alleged to have received a NT$5 million (US$153,359) bribe while he was Taoyuan mayor to broker an industrial development project in the city’s Hwa Ya Technology Park (華亞科技園區) in Linkou District (林口) in 2017.
Cheng said that prosecutors have misunderstood the role he played in the situation, adding that he did not agree with the actions of Liao Chun-sung (廖俊松), former head of an industrial zone planning committee in Linkou, who is also suspected of corruption.
In an August news conference announcing the charges, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office said it recommended a 12-year jail sentence for Cheng.
On Sep. 14, 2017, Liao allegedly placed a black bag containing NT$5 million under a coffee table in front of Cheng when meeting with him at his official residence, the indictment said.
The indictment is inaccurate, Cheng said, adding that he did not realize Liao had brought anything to the meeting as they were in different rooms when the latter arrived.
Although Liao spoke about Formosa Plastics (台灣塑膠), it was a brief meeting and the two did not discuss land development, Cheng added.
Liao did not give him the bag personally or make a “5” gesture with his hands, Cheng said, adding that he did not discover the bag until the following day.
He then tried to return the bag to Liao multiple times, going as far as contacting Liao’s son to return it, but did not notify the Department of Government Ethics, he said.
The Executive Yuan on Sep 7, 2017, had already approved the project, Cheng said, before the alleged incident occurred, so it could not have influenced the process.
He also did not change his behavior, he said, adding that if he knew Liao was already being watched he would not have tried to contact him.
Cheng also refuted allegations that he accepted a further NT$6 million in political donations.
Cheng’s lawyer requested that prosecutors provide more details and evidence about the land development process to provide context for his client’s case.
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