The Control Yuan has reprimanded the Ministry of Justice for allowing two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians to escape punishment after they were found guilty by the courts.
After convening on Wednesday, Control Yuan committee members agreed to serve a “corrective measure” to the ministry for negligence in its handling of cases involving former Tainan County council speaker Wu Chien-pao (吳健保) and former Ruifang (瑞芳) township mayor Liao Hsiu-hsiung (廖秀雄).
The Control Yuan statement said that during the court proceedings, prosecutors should have requested the prosecutor-general to establish personal files and monitoring mechanisms on the two men, since both were under criminal investigation and could have been a flight risk.
As the prosecutors were negligent in their duties, and the ministry was clearly at fault for failing to oversee the prosecutorial agencies, a “corrective measure” has been issued to the ministry, the statement said.
Wu was found guilty for his involvement as a financial backer of a major underground gambling syndicate in southern Taiwan, which specialized in taking bets and rigging the outcome of the nation’s professional baseball league.
Wu was convicted and given a 38-month prison sentence, but used his council speaker position to evade punishment.
In 2011, Wu was found guilty of fraud and bid rigging in a case dating from 2006 where he colluded with business associates to run an illegal sand-and-gravel excavation operation for profits estimated at about NT$100 million (US$3.08 million at current exchange rates).
Wu fled from his residence to avoid arrest and jail time, and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Liao was sentenced to 34 months in prison in January after being convicted of embezzling petroleum firm subsidies, and in March was given a nine-year term for receiving kickbacks from a public utility project by Taiwan Power Co.
However, Liao also fled and reportedly escaped to China.
The ministry issued a statement saying that Wu was convicted on fraud and other charges that were not of a serious nature, and the prosecutor in charge at the time had deemed Wu was not a flight risk, as his son was running as a candidate in the local councilor election.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from