By Chen Wen-chan, LIu Yung-yun, and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
A Chiayi City Investigation Station investigator has been sentenced for bribery and abuse of authority, while a Taipei prosecutor in a separate case has resigned after testing positive for methamphetamine and has been referred for disciplinary review.
The Ciaotou District Court on Friday sentenced former investigator Chen Chi-yuan (陳麒元) to 14 years and six months in prison, adding the ruling can be appealed.
The court said that while investigating a drug case involving a man named Chen Wei-cheng (陳暐誠) in 2019, Chen Chi-yuan accepted a bribe of a new iPhone 11 from Chen Wei-cheng’s then-wife in September. He then arranged for Chen Wei-cheng to meet with his wife while in custody, where he allowed the couple to have sex in a restroom, the ruling said.
The Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung is pictured in an undated photograph.
Photo: Tsai Ching-hua, Taipei Times
In November 2020, Chen Chi-yuan arranged for Chen Wei-cheng, then serving a sentence at Kaohsiung Second Prison, to be transferred temporarily to the Investigation Bureau’s Southern Regional Mobile Work Station. He allowed Chen Wei-cheng to use a cellphone and to meet his wife and children, the court said, adding that Chen Chi-yuan stood guard and looked after the children while Chen Wei-cheng had sex with his wife in a restroom.
In early 2021, Chen Chi-yuan arranged another transfer to the Tainan City Investigation Office under the pretext of conducting investigative work. The two agreed that Chen Wei-cheng would pay NT$1 million (US$30,923) toward a violin in exchange for Chen Chi-yuan to arrange another family meeting and standing guard while the couple had sex in a restroom, the ruling said, adding that Chen Chi-yuan did not receive the promised money.
In April 2021, Chen Chi-yuan arranged for Chiang Che-yu (江哲宇), at the time serving a sentence at Kaohsiung Prison, to be taken to the residence of his former wife, surnamed Huang (黃), to meet relatives and friends, the ruling said.
In September 2021, Chen Chi-yuan solicited NT$650,000 from Chiang to buy a violin, who agreed to contribute NT$120,000, the ruling said, adding that Chi-yuan failed to collect the money.
Chen Chi-yuan also instructed colleagues to destroy official video recordings to conceal his misconduct, damaging the integrity of investigation records, the court said. He was convicted of four offenses, including accepting a bribe in the form of an iPhone, agreeing to accept bribes and damaging official property.
In a separate case concerning Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office prosecutor Liu Chung-lin (劉忠霖), Liu tendered his resignation after testing positive for methamphetamine in a urine test following a police stop in New Taipei City on Feb. 27.
The office said on Thursday last week that it was notified of the incident by the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office on Oct. 5 and immediately launched an internal investigation. Liu admitted to using a Category 2 narcotic before providing the sample, it said.
The office convened a personnel review committee on Oct. 13 and referred Liu to the Prosecutor Evaluation Committee for an individual review. He has taken leave and suspended his prosecutorial duties pending the effective date of his resignation, it said.