Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (
The district court sentenced Chiu to 50 days in jail. His sentence was reduced to 25 days in accordance with a sentence commutation statute passed last year. Chiu's sentence can also be commuted to a fine. Chiu yesterday said he would appeal the ruling to the Taiwan High Court.
"Chiu Yi failed to offer solid evidence that Yu illegally lobbied for a construction company that won a construction bid from the Taiwan Power Company," the Taipei District Court ruling said.
The ruling added that Chiu's remarks had jeopardized Yu's reputation and were not protected under the freedom of speech.
According to the ruling, in March 2006, Chiu told the TBVS political talk show, 2100 Quan Min Kai Jiang (Speaking Your Mind at 2100), that a construction company was able to win a NT$5 billion (US$153 million) bid from the Taiwan Power Company because Yu was behind the company.
Chiu said his accusation was based on solid evidence, but when the court asked him to provide the evidence, he told the court the accusation against Yu was based on his suspicions.
Chiu has been facing multiple slander suits for revealing scandals without offering proof.
Chiu was also indicted in March 2006 for alleging that DPP Legislator Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑) was involved in Futung Group's embezzlement of several billions of dollars.
He alleged Hsu had traded 600 Futung Group stocks before it was forced to cease trading on the stock market.
Prosecutors found Chiu's accusation was untrue.
This case was not heard in district court because Chiu and Hsu settled out of court.
Meanwhile, in other news, DPP Legislators Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶) and Huang Chao-hui (黃昭輝) on Friday were found guilty in a slander lawsuit brought against them by the leader of the 2006 anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) movement, Shih Ming-teh (施明德).
The two legislators were sued for calling Shih a "homeless mad dog," a "pervert" and a "bastard" during a press conference held in September 2006.
The Taipei district court handed down the verdict with a ruling that Chiang and Huang each had to pay NT$100,000 (US$3,000) to Shih in compensation.
Both legislators said they would appeal the case.
Chang Fu-chung (
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and