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Judicial reform organization calls for a
judges’ law
By Rich Chang
Staff Reporter
Monday, Aug 16, 2010, Page 3
A judicial reform group yesterday called for the drafting of
a judges’ law to root out unqualified judges.
Directed at the judiciary and legislature, this call comes in the wake of a
number of incidents in recent weeks in which Taiwan High Court judges have been
found to have consorted with prostitutes and met mistresses during office hours
as well as being accused of involvement in collective bribery.
DELAYS
Attorney and executive director of the Judicial Reform Foundation Lin Feng-jeng
(林峰正) said that although the judicial reform movement had sought the enactment
of a judges’ law to regulate judicial conduct and weed out unqualified
individuals for years, its introduction had been delayed by legislative inaction
and resistance from a substantial number of judges.
Lin said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the Judicial Yuan and the legislature
should now push to overcome that resistance.
IMAGE UNDERMINED
Lin said the scandals involving a number of judges had seriously undermined the
image of the judicial system in Taiwan.
Taiwan High Court Judge Yang Ping-chen (楊炳禎) was suspended by the Judicial Yuan
on Friday after investigators monitoring his cellphone calls found that Yang,
who handled fewer cases than his colleagues for health reasons, was visiting
prostitutes a few times a month during office hours.
GOOD LIFE
Yang, who was under investigation in a bribery case, owns luxurious houses in
Taipei and spends a considerable amount of money and time collecting and trading
Chinese antiques, investigators said. They doubted that such a lifestyle was
possible on a judge’s salary.
Investigators also determined that Taiwan High Court judges Tsai Kuang-chih
(蔡光治) and Chen Jung-ho (陳榮和), who were detained last month and charged with
bribery, often met with mistresses in restaurants or hotels during office hours
and visited pubs and restaurants with hostesses.
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