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Prosecutor agrees
with allegations of Ma vendetta
By Chang Wen-chuan and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff
writer
Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office (THPO) Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (侯寬仁) yesterday
backed a former deputy justice minister’s allegations on Tuesday that President
Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had turned to the nation’s administrative and investigative
branches to pursue a personal vendetta against him for indicting the president
on corruption charges in 2007.
“It is shocking to know that a president would resort to administrative means to
punish the judicial personnel in charge of a legal case involving himself,” Hou
said in response to media queries about former deputy minister of justice Lee
Chin-yung’s (李進勇) accusations on Tuesday that Ma had interfered with the
judicial system.
Lee presented a copy of a newspaper clipping showing an op-ed article written by
Ma’s attorney, C.V. Chen (陳長文), in January 2010, calling on the Ministry of the
Justice to seek compensation from Hou for what he described as negligence in
handling the fraud case.
On the clipping was a note left by Ma that read: “Minister [of Justice] Wang
Ching-feng, please read [the article] and clarify the matter.”
Lee alleged that Ma had held a grudge against Hou for indicting him on charges
of misappropriating NT$11 million (US$333,000 at current exchange rates) from
his special mayoral allowance during his eight-year tenure as Taipei mayor, even
after he was found not guilty in April 2008. Hou said Ma took him to court in
January 2008 on charges of dereliction of duty and forgery of investigation
reports related to his corruption case, but the case was dismissed.
“After I was cleared of criminal liability, the president refused to let go of
the matter … and instead used Chen’s article as a pretext for trying to hold me
administratively accountable for another case,” Hou said.
As Hou’s alleged malpractice in handling the fraud case had gone beyond the
10-year statute of limitations for public functionary’s administrative
negligence, given that defendants in the case were first indicted and detained
in 1997, Ma later turned to the Control Yuan for assistance, Hou said.
Contrary to Ma’s expectations, the Control Yuan in December 2010 issued a
correction order not to Hou, but to the ministry, for failing to discipline Hou
sooner, as suggested by a Control Yuan investigation report in May 2002.
Hou said that then-justice minister Wang Ching-feng (王清峰), apparently acting on
Ma’s orders, sent an official letter to the THPO in February 2010 asking the
agency to “ascertain Hou’s [administrative] liability in ‘fraudulently
misrepresenting’ witnesses’ statements” in Ma’s corruption case.
“It’s evident that the ministry jumped to conclusions before the THPO even had a
chance to look into the matter,” Hou added.
Hou said the THPO originally decided not to discipline him.
Nevertheless, the ministry’s personnel review committee decided to mete out a
heavier punishment and gave Hou a demerit instead in October that year, he said.
Asked whether the concerted efforts by Ma, Chen and Wang to find fault with him
constituted a witch-hunt, Hou said: “It’s up for interpretation.”
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