The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a verdict by the Taiwan High Court and the Kaohsiung District Court sentencing Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (
According to Article 79 of the Law on Local Government Systems (地方制度法), the Executive Yuan will relieve Chu of his position as a Kaohsiung City councilor.
He will also lose his speakership and constitutional immunity. Chu will have to begin his jail term when summoned.
According to the Taiwan High Court's verdict, upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday, Chu was sentenced to 22 months in prison and his civil rights will be suspended for three years.
His campaign assistant, Cheng Ming-chin (
The Supreme Court's decision exhausts Chu's avenues for appeal.
"We have carefully reviewed the entire case and did not discover any flaw in the high court's verdict. As a result, we decided to uphold the verdict and make it final," said Chang Hsin-hsiung (
Chang said the high court's verdict was made based on prosecutors' interrogations with the defendants and witnesses, as well as the NT$50,000 which was later confirmed to be bribe money. He said the verdict was perfect and clear.
As of press time yesterday, Cabinet officials said they had not received the official verdict, which usually takes seven to 10 days to be delivered, so they cannot comment on the case.
Chu said he was calm upon hearing that his appeal had been rejected.
"I am still a councilor and I still have my obligation to serve my supporters. I have not thought about what to do at this moment," Chu said.
Chu and Cheng tried to buy votes for NT$500 each during the Dec. 1 election for Kaohsiung City council.
The Kaohsiung District Court sentenced Chu to 22 months in jail and suspended his civil rights for three years.
For Cheng, judges decided to put him away for 18 months and suspend his civil rights for three years.
Chu and Cheng appealed to the Taiwan High Court's Kaohsiung Branch. In May, the high court upheld the district court's decision on Chu.
High court judges decided to decrease Cheng's sentence from 18 months to nine months and civil-rights suspension from three years to two years because Cheng cooperated with prosecutors during the investigation and confessed to the crime.
In addition to this case, Chu has been indicted, and prosecutors are recommending a 30-month sentence, for his allegedly buying votes for NT$5 million each during last year's city council speakership election.
Kaohsiung District Court Presiding Judge Lin Shui-cheng (林水城) has requested that Chu be arrested, saying he has dodged his summons by using flimsy excuses.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”
Hsu Wen-erh (許汶而) on Friday became the first Taiwanese to swim solo across the English Channel, saying she was very happy to bring Taiwan to the world. Hsu completed the challenge in 12 hours, 17 minutes and eight seconds, after swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar in October last year. She said she had planned to swim the English Channel in August next year, but seized the opportunity when a vacancy became available on the waiting list. She went to the UK in May to train for a test that involves swimming for six hours at 16°C, which people who want to swim