Press Conference on the Disciplinary Court Series Court-Observation Activities | Not a Thing of the Past: Seven Major Cases Involving the 'Shih Mu-ch'in Figures' Are Under Review, and the Disciplinary Court Must Be Subject to Public Oversight

On September 9, 2020, the Control Yuan released an investigation report regarding the improper contacts, golf outings, banquets, and stock purchases between former Commission for the Disciplinary Action of Public Functionaries President Shih Mu-ch'in and Chia Ho Group Chairman Weng Mao-chung, causing an uproar across society. The case spawned investigations into approximately 120 judges and prosecutors, with the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice referring 20 judges and 11 prosecutors for disciplinary action, inflicting profound damage on the credibility of the judiciary.

The Judicial Reform Foundation (hereinafter referred to as "JRF") has held five press conferences and conducted five court-observation activities to date, and continues to monitor the subsequent investigations and accountability procedures for this series of cases. Cases related to the "Shih Mu-ch'in figures" have not yet become a "thing of the past," but remain an "ongoing reality." The JRF has launched a series of court-observation activities, inviting all sectors of society to continue exercising joint oversight.

Seven Major Cases Involving the "Shih Mu-ch'in Figures" Currently Under Review by the Disciplinary Court

Following the release of the Control Yuan's report, Shih Mu-ch'in himself was the first to be impeached and referred to the Disciplinary Court. Regrettably, in late December 2021, the court of first instance determined that most of the facts exceeded the 10-year disciplinary prescription period stipulated in Article 25, Paragraph 3 of the pre-amendment Public Functionaries Disciplinary Act, thereby rendering a dismissal decision. It penalized Shih Mu-ch'in with a one-year forfeiture of salary based solely on his successive sales of 100 shares of Lien Chia Company stock (Case Number: Disciplinary Court Judgment 109-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 9). The Disciplinary Court's approach of treating misconduct as a thing of the past has once again sparked criticism. Following the Control Yuan's appeal, the second instance is scheduled to hold a public trial tomorrow (June 9), and the JRF will be present to conduct court observation.

In addition to Shih Mu-ch'in, six other high-ranking officials—Lo Jung-ch'ien, Cheng Hsiao-k'ang, Tseng P'ing-shan, Lin Ch'i-fu, Yen Nan-ch'üan, and Su I-chou—have been referred to the Control Yuan for impeachment following internal investigations by the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice, and their cases are also being reviewed by the Disciplinary Court. On June 1, 2022, the JRF submitted an amicus curiae brief (see the link at the end of the text) calling upon the Disciplinary Court to recognize that these cases, like that of Shih Mu-ch'in himself, involve significant public interest and should similarly be tried publicly in accordance with the approach taken in the first instance of the Shih Mu-ch'in case, so as to manifest public trust.

Should the Disciplinary Court decide to hold a public trial, the JRF will also initiate a series of court-observation activities, inviting everyone to care and participate together.

Latest Hearing Schedule Information for the Seven Major Cases of the "Shih Mu-ch'in Figures"

Subject of Discipline	Disciplinary Court Case Number	Latest Hearing Schedule
Shih Mu-ch'in	109-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 9 111-Ch'eng-Shang-Tzu No. 2	June 9 (Thu) 09:30 Second-Instance Preparatory Proceedings (Public trial in Special Courtroom 1 of the Taiwan High Court)
Lo Jung-ch'ien	111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 2	July 5 (Tue) 10:00 Preparatory Proceedings (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)
Cheng Hsiao-k'ang	110-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 4	June 8 (Wed) 14:30 Oral Argument Proceedings (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)
Tseng P'ing-shan	111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 3	Not yet scheduled (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)
Lin Ch'i-fu	111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 4	Not yet scheduled (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)
Yen Nan-ch'üan	111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 5	Not yet scheduled (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)
Su I-chou	111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 6	Not yet scheduled (The Disciplinary Court has not yet decided to hold a public trial)

Summary of the Seven Major Cases

Subject of Discipline	Report Summary	Investigation Report
Shih Mu-ch'in	From July 22, 1997 to 2017, former Commission for the Disciplinary Action of Public Functionaries President Shih Mu-ch'in long maintained banquets and golf outings with Weng Mao-chung, a party to litigation. During this period, he failed to recuse himself when agents or defense counsel entrusted by Weng Mao-chung were present, and provided legal opinions. Furthermore, during his tenure as a Supreme Court judge, he had improper contacts or failed to recuse himself in cases involving Weng Mao-chung that were either under review by the Supreme Court or had just been sentenced by lower courts and appealed to the Supreme Court. In addition, during the review of civil and criminal cases involving litigation party Weng Mao-chung, he improperly used the names of his wife and son to purchase shares of I-an Company and Lien Chia Company, which were operated and controlled by Weng Mao-chung, in order to gain profits.	Control Yuan 109-Szu-Tiao-0069
Lo Jung-ch'ien	From October 1998 to July 2016, during his tenure as a prosecutor at the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, former prosecutor Lo Jung-ch'ien had improper contacts with Weng Mao-chung. This included meeting with Weng Mao-chung multiple times—and even discussing case details—before and after signing off on assignments upon receiving relevant whistleblowing reports. He also maintained long-term banquets, gatherings, and golf outings with Weng Mao-chung, accompanied Weng Mao-chung to visit high-ranking executive personnel in certain fields, and accepted shirts gifted by Weng Mao-chung.	Ministry of Justice Investigation Report dated January 18, 2022 Control Yuan 111-Szu-Tiao-0006
Cheng Hsiao-k'ang	During his tenure as a judge of the Taipei High Administrative Court and a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court from January 2005 to September 2014, Cheng Hsiao-k'ang heard two cases involving Weng Mao-chung. Prior to accepting the cases, he had attended banquets with Weng Mao-chung three times and accepted shirts four times. Around the period before and after hearing these two cases, he failed to recuse himself and proceeded to conclude the trials, and proactively contacted and explained matters to Weng Mao-chung after the pronouncement of judgments, subsequently continuing to accept shirts gifted by Weng Mao-chung.	Judicial Yuan Investigation Report dated April 7, 2021 [1] Control Yuan 110-Szu-Tiao-0034
Tseng P'ing-shan	From June 1997 to December 2013, former Tainan High Court judge Tseng P'ing-shan successively served as a judge and division presiding judge of the Taiwan High Court Tainan Branch Court, and as a judge of the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court and Tainan Branch Court. Although he was not the judge presiding over the litigation cases involving Weng Mao-chung and his companies, during his tenure he discussed cases involving Weng Mao-chung, provided legal opinions, engaged in banquets and gatherings, accepted various types of assistance provided by Weng Mao-chung for himself, his family, and friends, and accepted shirts and health-maintenance products gifted by Weng Mao-chung.	Judicial Yuan Investigation Report dated January 18, 2021 [2] Control Yuan 111-Szu-Tiao-0007
Lin Ch'i-fu	During his tenure as a Supreme Court judge and division presiding judge and as the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Lin Ch'i-fu engaged in improper contacts with Weng Mao-chung, accepted banquets, and received shirts and nutritional supplements as gifts (during the appeal of the Bailie case to the Supreme Court, he met Weng Mao-chung alone twice; after the conclusion of the Bailie case, he met Weng Mao-chung alone eight times, additionally participated in golf outings and dinners with Weng Mao-chung, was invited to hot spring trips and dinners, and received shirts five times and nutritional supplements ten times). Furthermore, when hearing Supreme Court Civil Case 90-T'ai-Chien-Shang-Tzu No. 33, he failed to disclose his interactions with Weng Mao-chung, the actual operator of the defendant I-Hua Company, and participated in the deliberation.	Judicial Yuan Investigation Report dated January 18, 2021 [3] Control Yuan 111-Szu-Tiao-0013
Yen Nan-ch'üan	During his tenure as a Supreme Court judge, Yen Nan-ch'üan leaked information regarding cases under review by the Supreme Court to Weng Mao-chung, and lobbied and solicited favors from Weng Mao-chung regarding the military service assignment of his son. Moreover, he participated in the deliberations of Supreme Court Case 93-T'ai-Shang-Tzu No. 2143 regarding a damage compensation claim filed by I-Hua Company against Chu Ch'ing-en, and Supreme Court Case 98-T'ai-Shang-Tzu No. 2173 regarding a damage compensation claim filed by Banque de Paris against Wu Hsien-fu and I-Hua Company, without disclosing his interactions with Weng Mao-chung. He also repeatedly participated in banquets attended by Weng Mao-chung and his retained lawyers, and accepted shirts and gifts.
Su I-chou	During his tenure as a judge of the Tainan District Court, Su I-chou heard Tainan District Court Case 87-Su-Tzu No. 775 regarding the forgery of securities by Wu Hsien-fu, the financial manager of I-Hua Company. After the conclusion of the case, he maintained social and entertaining interactions with Weng Mao-chung, solicited favors from Weng Mao-chung for private personal matters, and accepted shirts and gifts.

Attachments

1. Amicus Curiae Brief | Shih Mu-ch'in, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Shang-Tzu No. 2
2. Amicus Curiae Brief | Lin Ch'i-fu, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 4
3. Amicus Curiae Brief | Tseng P'ing-shan, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 3
4. Amicus Curiae Brief | Cheng Hsiao-k'ang, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 110-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 4
5. Amicus Curiae Brief | Yen Nan-ch'üan, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 5
6. Amicus Curiae Brief | Lo Jung-ch'ien, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 2
7. Amicus Curiae Brief | Su I-chou, Disciplinary Court Disciplinary Trial Chamber 111-Ch'eng-Tzu No. 6

Attendees

Chiang Jung-hsiang, Attorney-at-Law / Standing Executive Director, Judicial Reform Foundation
Shih Hung-ch'eng, Attorney-at-Law / Standing Executive Director, Judicial Reform Foundation

Press Contacts

Li Ming-ju, Attorney-at-Law / Staff Attorney, Judicial Reform Foundation 02-2523-1178*17