The Taipei District Court has issued its verdict on a case of physical violence that took place in the Legislative Yuan in 1998, but both parties concerned expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence.
Under the verdict issued on Friday, independent Legislator Lo Fu-chu (
Lo yesterday protested what he called "political interference" in the judicial system. Yu, on the other hand, accused the judge of deliberately handing down a light punishment to help the three to avoid imprisonment.
According to the Criminal Code, a person convicted of inflicting bodily injuries can face imprisonment of up to three years. A sentence of fewer than 60 days in prison, however, can be substituted by the payment of a fine.
Lo, a convener of the legislature's Judiciary Committee who also suffered injuries in the scuffle, denounced the verdict as unfair.
"The judicial authorities accepted the one-sided story of Legislator Yu Jan-daw and never examined the videotape recording the entire course of events," Lo said.
"Now the people who injured me remain beyond the reach of the law. Where is the fairness of such a judicial system?" Lo added.
Lo said it had been inappropriate for the judiciary to get involved in the case in the first place, because he said it was a matter concerning the "autonomy" and "self-discipline" of the legislature.
"How come the judicial branch is now siding with the DPP? Does this mean politics comes before the law?" Lo asked.
The incident took place on June 15, 1998, when legislators were reviewing proposed amendments to the Farmers' Association Law (
In the middle of the meeting, some DPP legislators, disagreeing with the way the meeting was being conducted, protested to the chairman and blocked the continuation of the meeting.
Lo later joined the quarrel and started the scuffle, which involved several dozen legislators. Yu was assaulted by Lo, Lin and Chou when he tried to mediate and stop the fight.
Yu said he had filed a suit against the three legislators "because there is absolutely no self-discipline in the legislature."
"The legislature's disciplinary committee has never held a meeting, and that's why I resorted to legal means. Furthermore, physical violence isn't protected by immunity from judicial prosecution enjoyed by lawmakers," Yu said.
Yu said he would file an appeal with the court, as the sentence was too light and insufficient to curb violence in the legislature.
"Since the detention can be replaced by a fine, isn't this a skillful way for the judge to accommodate Lo?" Yu said.
Rejecting Lo's claim that the court had not collected any videotape as evidence, Yu said there were in fact videotapes provided by several TV companies which recorded the entire chain of events.
Yu said that Lo was injured when he was scuffling with other legislators.
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