Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) yesterday announced he would step down after the Taipei District Court hours earlier found him guilty and sentenced him to 14 months in prison for leaking confidential information to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) about a controversial probe into claims of influence peddling last year.
Taipei District Court spokesperson Lai Chien-yi (賴劍毅) told a press conference that Huang was charged with three counts of violating the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (通訊保障及監察法) and leaking classified information in violation of the Criminal Code, and that the district court had applied the heavier punishment — under the Communication Security and Surveillance Act — to convict Huang.
Lai said Huang was sentenced to five months, five months and six months respectively for the three violations, and that he would have to serve one year and two months in prison.
Photo: CNA
Huang is the first prosecutor-general to be indicted and convicted in the nation’s history.
He can appeal the ruling to the Taiwan High Court or pay a fine of NT$420,000 instead of serving the sentence.
Lai said Huang knew an investigation into allegations that funds were embezzled from Formosa Telecom Investment Co (全民電通) was still ongoing, but he broke the law when he briefed Ma on Aug. 31 last year. He gave Ma information gathered through a wiretap that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) had spoken with then-minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office Head Prosecutor Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) in an attempt to dissuade a Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor from seeking an appeal in a breach of trust case against Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
Huang also provided Ma a written report on the investigation on that night, he added.
On Sept. 4, Huang also briefed Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) on the probe and provided him with a similar written report, Lai said.
The Special Investigation Division (SID) then held a press conference on Sept. 6 under Huang’s direction, where the SID released the tapped telephone conversations to the media, Lai said.
The court said that Huang had illegally leaked confidential information on three occasions.
Huang yesterday afternoon proclaimed his innocence and said in a statement that he felt deep regret about the ruling.
He said it was hard to believe that influence peddlers had not been punished, “while the people who uncovered the scandal were seriously punished.”
He added that he had made every effort to prevent politics from interfering in the judiciary.
Huang said he intended to keep his promise that he would resign if convicted in the first trial.
Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) said the ministry respected the district court’s ruling and Huang’s decision to resign.
Additional reporting by AFP
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
UNITED: The premier said Trump’s tariff comments provided a great opportunity for the private and public sectors to come together to maintain the nation’s chip advantage The government is considering ways to assist the nation’s semiconductor industry or hosting collaborative projects with the private sector after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on chips exported to the US, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Trump on Monday told Republican members of the US Congress about plans to impose sweeping tariffs on semiconductors, steel, aluminum, copper and pharmaceuticals “in the very near future.” “It’s time for the United States to return to the system that made us richer and more powerful than ever before,” Trump said at the Republican Issues Conference in Miami, Florida. “They
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
TAIWAN DEFENSE: The initiative would involve integrating various systems in a fast-paced manner through the use of common software to obstruct a Chinese invasion The first tranche of the US Navy’s “Replicator” initiative aimed at obstructing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be ready by August, a US Naval Institute (USNI) News report on Tuesday said. The initiative is part of a larger defense strategy for Taiwan, and would involve launching thousands of uncrewed submarines, surface vessels and aerial vehicles around Taiwan to buy the nation and its partners time to assemble a response. The plan was first made public by the Washington Post in June last year, when it cited comments by US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
RSS