Several judicial reform activists yesterday called on the judiciary to protect the legal rights of attorneys, detained suspects and convicts as guaranteed in the Constitution.
“At a time when society is highly polarized between pan-blue and pan-green, between those who support [former president] Chen Shui-bian [陳水扁] and those who are against him, we need a rational and independent judiciary that looks after everyone’s rights and brings hope to the society,” Taiwan Bar Association (TWBA) chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told a press conference. “The judicial system has yet to pass that test.”
While many have long questioned the human rights record of the judicial system, recent cases had helped to bring the “dark side” under the spotlight, he said.
Chen’s attorney, Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍), is now under investigation as the Ministry of Justice suspects that he may have leaked details of ongoing cases when delivering messages from Chen to the public after visiting the former president in detention.
Cheng said that he was accompanied by two prosecutor’s aides each time he met Chen and that the aides would “remind” him when he might have said something inappropriate. He said all his conversations with Chen were recorded and videotaped.
Attorneys representing other suspects and defendants involved in Chen’s alleged cases of embezzlement and accepting brides have also complained about the procedure.
“A meeting between a suspect or defendant and his or her attorney can of course be watched, but no one should be listening to it, recording it or handing those recordings to prosecutors,” Koo said.
Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成), convener of the Alliance for Human Rights in Criminal Cases, agreed.
“The Detention Law [羇押法] stipulates that a meeting between a detained individual and an attorney may be ‘watched.’ Obviously, having someone listen in and even record the conversation is unlawful,” Lo said. “What happened in Chen’s case is not an isolated one. This unlawful practice has, in fact, long been in existence.”
“Instead of launching an investigation of lawyers over leaks of details of ongoing cases, the judiciary should launch an investigation into the prosecutors to try to find out how the media is able to get so much detailed information on ongoing cases,” Judicial Reform Foundation executive director Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正) said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS