The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it would ask the Council of Grand Justices to rule on the constitutionality of some aspects of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) trial.
The DPP and some observers have cited several points in the case as possible violations of Chen’s legal rights. One of the most controversial points has been Chen’s detention for more than 250 days during the investigation and trial.
“We hope that the grand justices will make a ruling as soon as possible on several flaws and controversies concerning legal procedure,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a news conference after the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday.
“The Council of Grand Justices’ decision will have an impact on the legitimacy of the ruling in the first [trial]” and clarify controversial points that could arise in similar cases in the future, Tsai said.
The DPP called for a reform of the nation’s detention system and urged the court to release Chen so that he could prepare his appeal.
Separately, one of Chen’s court-appointed attorneys yesterday said he would discuss with Chen the district court’s latest decision to reject his request for release on bail. Chen has been behind bars since Dec. 30 at the Taipei Detention Center.
On Friday, the Taipei District Court found Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) and 11 co-defendants guilty. The former first couple, convicted on charges including corruption and money laundering, received life sentences and a total of NT$500 million in fines.
Chen asked his attorneys to file a motion before Friday’s ruling to release him from detention so that he could prepare his appeal.
Attorney Tseng Te-rong (曾德榮) said he received the district court’s rejection on Tuesday evening and would scrutinize the court’s reasoning.
Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) said in his ruling that Chen should remain in detention for fear that he could try to flee the country, among other reasons.
Tseng said he had yet to discuss the decision with Chen to decide whether to appeal. The more urgent task at hand is to prepare paperwork to file an appeal of Friday’s ruling, he said.
The deadline to file the appeal is Sept. 24.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS