Ugliest Corruption Case in Judicial History: Convictions Final

Ugliest Corruption Case in Judicial History: Convictions Final

Sources: All Taipei newspapers

October 18, 2013

A final verdict has been handed down in the most severe collective corruption scandal in the judicial history of Taiwan. The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the lower court’s rulings, confirming that five judges, one prosecutor, and two prosecutors-turned-lawyer were guilty. Former Judge Tsai Kuang-chih received the most severe sentence of 20 years in prison for having received bribes and assisted in giving bribes in a bribery case involving former legislator Her Jyh-huei (何智輝), who is currently a fugitive on the most wanted list.

Presiding Judge Chen Jung-he and Judge Lee Chun-ti of the Taiwan Provincial High Court, who also received bribes in the same bribery case, were given sentences of 18 years and 11.5 years in prison, respectively. Former Banchiao District Prosecutor Chiu Mao-jung was sentenced to 6 years in prison for having assisted Her Jyh-huei in distributing bribes.

Presiding Judge Fang Ah-sheng had his sentence remitted to 10 years and 6 months after he surrendered the money that had been given by Chang Ping-lung, a former judge at the Taiwan Provincial High Court Hualien Branch, who was earlier given a final sentence of 11 years for having taken a bribe of NT$ 300,000 from a defendant in 1996. Fang did not appeal the ruling and is now serving time in jail. (Chang had one year added to his sentence for giving bribes and is now also serving time in jail.) Former prosecutor Chang Chuan and Chiu Chuang-shun, who are now attorneys, were given 2 years and 1.5 years, respectively, for perfidy in the Chang Ping-lung case.

The ruling noted that the Taiwan Provincial High Court, the appellate court, held a court hearing in April 2010 on the Tungluo Science Park Land case involving former legislator Her Jyh-huei, who had been sentenced to 19 years in prison by the Taipei District Court for accepting NT$ 200 million in kickbacks. Her Jyh-huei contacted two of the judges hearing his case through Banchiao District Prosecutor Chiu Mao-jung and arranged to give NT$ 2 million in bribes to Trial Judge Lee Chun-ti and NT$ 1.5 million in bribes to Presiding Judge Chen Jung-he, who consequently acquitted Her Jyh-huei on May 12 of the same year. Two months later, the collective corruption case involving several judges and a prosecutor was exposed, and Her Jyh-huei fled from justice to the Mainland.

In addition, Chang Ping-lung, a former judge at the Taiwan Provincial High Court Hualien Branch, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and his appeal was heard by a collegiate bench comprised of Judges Fang Ah-sheng, Tsai Kuang-chih, and Lei Yuan-che. Chang had given NT$ 2 million and NT$ 1 million, separately, to lobby Presiding Judge Fang Ah-sheng and Trial Judge Tsai Kuang-chih. Chang Ping-lung was later acquitted.

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