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Commissioner
acquitted in bribe case
‘POLITICAL WITCH HUNT’: Although the Yunlin
County commissioner was found not guilty of accepting a NT$5 million bribe, the
DPP said the damage has been done
By Vincent Y. Chao / STAFF REPORTER
A combination photograph shows
(left) Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen, center, shakes hands with
supporters outside the courtroom after she was acquitted by a local court of
bribery charges yesterday, and a file photo (right) that shows Su, center, holds
her arms up in protest against her indictment for corruption on Nov. 10, 2008.
Photo: Taipei Times
A local court yesterday quashed charges of
bribery against Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), who once led an
11-day hunger strike to protest against what she said was a political
prosecution.
The verdict reached by the Yunlin District Court gave some relief to the
embattled Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) commissioner who was overwhelmingly
re-elected in 2009 -despite the -judicial proceedings.
Su had faced charges of accepting NT$5 million (US$174,845) in bribes to speed
up approval of a landfill in the county by skipping an environmental assessment.
Prosecutors had argued for a 15-year sentence and an eight-year suspension of
civil rights.
“There’s nothing happy about this ruling today. I have been innocent from the
start in this case,” Su somberly told hundreds of supporters after the verdict
was announced. “I have never accepted even one dollar in bribes.”
Suggesting that the decision relied on testimony from a key witness, Su said
that she would like to thank a special person that “stood as firm as a
mountain.”
“There are many things that I will not be able to disclose publicly, but I would
like to especially thank a special friend,” Su said. “I especially express
gratitude to you and am especially thankful for you.”
The ruling was keenly watched after Su and other DPP politicians said that
prosecutors were on a “political witch hunt” to find misconduct connected to the
Yunlin County commissioner.
Hundreds of supporters, including local politicians and community figures,
gathered outside the courtroom, expressing support and proclaiming Su’s
innocence before the ruling was announced in the afternoon.
Su immediately proclaimed her innocence when first detained in late 2008 and
went on an 11-day hunger strike that saw her being rushed to the hospital,
instead of paying a NT$6 million bail that she said she could not afford.
She has been called the poorest local commissioner nationwide, with financial
disclosure records showing that she and her husband are more than NT$20 million
in debt.
During her defense, lawyers acknowledged that the NT$5 million bribe was given,
but said that the money was immediately returned by Lin Yuan-chuan (林源泉), Yunlin
County’s deputy commissioner.
“We hope that Su is the last victim of Taiwan’s judicial system,” said Lee
Ching-yung (李進勇), Su’s lawyer.
In a statement released after the verdict, the DPP called on prosecutors to
thoroughly review the case, saying that the process was “flawed.”
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said the controversy had irreversibly
damaged Su’s reputation.
“Despite the not guilty ruling, the damage has been done,” Cheng said. “Despite
a lack of evidence, [prosecutors] had brazenly searched and detained a local
commissioner — creating divisions within Taiwanese society.”
Chiang Teh-lung (蔣得龍), spokesman for the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office,
said prosecutors would decide later whether to appeal the case to the Taiwan
High Court.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
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