Corrupt Prosecutor Seizes Temple Property! Exposing Corrupt Prosecutor's Secret Techniques? "Hounding Corrupt Prosecutors" Press Conference Series (VI)

In the second half of 2011, a dispute broke out over the election of the chairperson of Pingtung Chüeh-Shan Temple, and conflicts also arose over the handover of temple property (dozens of pieces of real estate, millions of NT dollars in cash, gold medals, and official seals). The new and old factions of chairpersons filed multiple criminal charges against each other. The newly-faked temple management committee accused the former chairperson of the temple management—who refused to hand over the temple property following the reelection—of suspected embezzlement. However, the handling prosecutor (another prosecutor) determined that there were flaws in the reelection procedure, and therefore the former chairperson's refusal to hand down the temple property did not constitute embezzlement, resulting in a non-prosecution disposition (Pingtung District Prosecutors Office, 101-年度偵字第4296號).

Subsequently, the old faction filed a complaint by ringing the bell, accusing the new faction's chairperson of unauthorized carving of the temple's seal, thereby committing the offense of forgery of documents. Unexpectedly, Prosecutor Wu Wen-cheng of the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office, who handled this case (102-年度偵字第230號), forcibly intervened in the electoral dispute between the new and old factions. He ordered all committee members and supervisory committee members to report to the Chaochou Precinct of the Pingtung County Police Bureau at 10:30 AM on January 22, 2013, to hold an election for the chairperson. Without avoiding the appearance of a conflict of interest, he even acted as the meeting chair. More absurdly, he merged the criminal investigation procedure with the election procedure, produced criminal interrogation records, and "solemnly" elected a new chairperson (belonging to the new faction, who was originally a defendant in the forgery case). Not only was the location inappropriate and the procedures chaotic, but it also showed obvious bias toward one side. Such illegal and abusive exercise of power is baffling.

Formally on January 30, Prosecutor Wu continued to hold an investigative hearing for the forgery case, but he clearly lost any interest in investigating "whether the defendants (the new faction's chairperson and others) committed the crime of forgery." Instead, he began to focus on the whereabouts of the temple's seals, repeatedly questioning the "complainant" (namely, the former chairperson of the old faction) as to whether the handover of temple property to the new faction's chairperson had been completed, seemingly "treating the complainant as a defendant." Worse still, Prosecutor Wu pursued the matter relentlessly, proactively initiating a separate case to investigate the former chairperson of the old faction for suspected "embezzlement" of items that should have been handed over (102-年度偵字第3434號), and launched a search, going to the homes of the old faction's chairperson and related individuals to seize the temple's seals, gold medals, and passbooks. Furthermore, on the very day of the seizure, under the pretext that an appraisal was needed, Prosecutor Wu handed the seized gold medals over to the newly appointed chairperson for safekeeping, and successively returned other seized items to the newly appointed chairperson. Ultimately, Prosecutor Wu Wen-cheng, on the one hand, determined that the former chairperson of the old faction and others constituted the crime of embezzlement and filed a motion with the court for a summary judgment; on the other hand, he determined that the newly appointed chairperson and others did not constitute the crime of forgery and issued a non-prosecution disposition (however, this non-prosecution disposition was deemed problematic by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office and was remanded; investigation is currently ongoing).

Prosecutor Wu's controversial actions include:

1. The prosecutor expelling the temple keepers, having overstepped his authority

   Prosecutor Wu took it upon himself to act as the convener of the temple's chairperson election, disregarding the temple's charter and statutory regulations. (According to Article 32 of the Referendum Act / People's团体法, the Pingtung County Government should designate one committee member to convene the meeting)

2. Arbitrarily determining private property rights and invoking search and seizure powers to resolve disputes, constituting illegal abuse of power

   After searching and seizing gold medals, seals, and other items from the old faction, Prosecutor Wu successively handed the seized items over to the new faction's chairperson for safekeeping, unlawfully abusing criminal compulsory disposition powers.

3. Almost reduced to a private hitman, the impartiality in the performance of official duties has completely vanished

   Prosecutor Wu consistently favored the new faction's chairperson who was complained against by ringing the bell, abused criminal investigation procedures to conduct an election, and even served as the meeting chair. Not only did he hand the seized items over to the new faction, but subsequently, the new faction received a non-prosecution disposition while the old faction was prosecuted in a separate case. The impartiality of executing his duties has completely vanished.

Today, our Foundation is releasing details of Prosecutor Wu Wen-cheng's abuse of power, and the affected party is willing to step forward and speak out to subject him to public scrutiny. Subsequently, our Foundation will also submit these cases to the Prosecutor Evaluation Commission, formally requesting an individual evaluation of Prosecutor Wu Wen-cheng.

Attendees

Rita Lin (Lin Yung-sung), Standing Board Director, Judicial Reform Foundation
Robin Lin (Lin Feng-cheng), CEO, Judicial Reform Foundation
Kao Jung-chih, Office Director, Judicial Reform Foundation
Lin Hai-jung, Former Chairperson, Pingtung Chütien Chüeh-Shan Temple
Chen Shun-fu, Former Committee Member, Pingtung Chütien Chüeh-Shan Temple
Chen Wen-kung, Former Cashier, Pingtung Chütien Chüeh-Shan Temple

Press Contact

Kao Jung-chih 02-2523-1178