The High Court ordered a NT$400 million (US$12.45 million) bond to be forfeited on Friday after a Taiwanese tycoon charged with stock manipulation, insider trading and embezzlement allegedly skipped bail.
Chu Guo-rong (朱國榮), president of the Global Funeral Service Corp (國寶服務), violated the terms of his house arrest and mandatory daily visit to a local police station, the court said on Friday in a press release.
Chu is accused of manipulating the stock value of construction company Long Bon International Co using the finances of Global Funeral Service Corp.
Photo: CNA
He is also accused of insider trading during CTBC Financial Holding Co’s acquisition of Taiwan Life Insurance Co in 2015.
The court found Chu guilty in both cases, sentencing him to eight and 16 years in prison, respectively.
As Chu appealed the verdicts, the cases are currently being handled by the Supreme Court.
With Chu’s bail set at NT$100 million and NT$400 million during his trials, the businessman was under house arrest instead of being incarcerated.
Chu’s sister Chu Pei-yu (朱佩瑜) was the guarantor of the NT$400 million bond.
The businessman also received an eight-month extension on his ban on leaving the country starting from May 1.
As part of his house arrest, Chu Guo-rong was required to report in person to Sanzhangli Police Station in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) every day before 7pm, the station said.
However, it was not until Tuesday last week that the station reported Chu had not visited the station since 3pm on Sept. 7.
The Supreme Court on Thursday last week issued notices to Chu Guo-rong, his attorney and Chu Pei-yu to appear in court on that day.
With a no-show, a delayed hearing was held on Thursday, and the Supreme Court officially issued a warrant for Chu Guo-rong’s arrest.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted a High Court tribunal request for the tycoon’s NT$400 bond to be forfeited.
Chu Guo-rong’s whereabouts are unknown, but local press reported that he had fled the country.
In related news, the Taipei Police Department said that it is holding the chief of Sanzhangli Police Station accountable for the delayed reporting of Chu Guo-rong’s bail violation.
The chief of the station, surnamed Chen (陳), has been demoted to a non-managerial position in the city’s Datong Precinct.
Taipei Police Commissioner Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said that an investigation would be conducted to determine whether law enforcement personnel aided Chu Guo-rong in his efforts to flee Taiwan.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS