Prosecutors panned over leaks and arbitrary detentions
Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) The Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office was lambasted Saturday by a private judiciary-monitoring group for “leaking details of cases under its investigation” and “arbitrary detentions of suspects.”
The civic Judicial Reform Foundation said that the division, which is conducting the current probe into corruption allegations against ex-president Chen Shui-bian, failed to address public concerns that its members were providing classified information to mass media outlets.
In a press release distributed at a forum on judicial reform, the foundation said a spokesman for the division regularly provides the public with sketchy information about the investigation, but that the mass media outlets often report far more details than the spokesman has revealed.
Noting that the law forbids the disclosure of details of cases under probe, the foundation said the Ministry of Justice asked the division twice in October to address the leakage problem but has not yet gotten any response.
Praising the efforts of the division in uncovering high-profile corruption cases, the foundation said its prosecutors should however follow the law and keep their lips sealed while conducting their investigations.
The foundation also criticized the division for what they called its arbitrary decision of which suspects under its investigation should be taken into custody.
The foundation said that, for example, Jeffrey Koo Jr., a business tycoon who was suspected of bribing Chen in 2006, was released by the division on bail after being questioned on Nov. 24, in spite of the fact that he was wanted in a high-profile but unrelated case.
This decision contrasts sharply with the division’s successful requests for the detention of Chen and many of his former close aides in the case, said the foundation.
This practice of detaining suspects arbitrarily has been followed by prosecutors in other areas, the foundation claimed, citing the case of Yunlin Magistrate Su Chih-fen who was held and detained Nov. 5 by prosecutors in that county without being summoned.
Prosecutors seriously infringe on the human rights of the people by randomly seeking the detention of suspects, the foundation claimed.
Under the law, the detention of any suspect under investigation must be approved by the court, a regulation that has been followed in all the cases mentioned above. (By Maubo Chang) Enditem /pc
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