Taipei Times - archives

Taipei Times - archives
There is a stark contrast between this High Court ruling and the one handed down by the Taipei District Court to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), on trial for the improper use of special expenses when he was Taipei City mayor. At the time, the District Court ruled that Ma had not abused the special expenses fund, despite procedural irregularities for which his then-secretary Yu Wen (余文) was charged with falsifying documents. This High Court ruling has now set a precedent, both for the name of the crime and the maximum punishment applicable that will govern sentencing on thousands of officials, big and small, accused in the future of corruption for abusing special funds. Civil servants get no more than seven years for falsifying documents, so it is quite a leap from this to hand down a life sentence for corruption in the service of the state. This is the reason the High Court reacted to the different treatment given to Ma and Chen.