Taipei ( AsiaNews ) - It was a stormy day for the Taiwanese government yesterday : Minister for Justice Tseng Yung -fu (曾 勇 夫) tendered his resignation which was accepted by the President. The now former Minister Tseng ( see photo ) stepped down on the charge of aiding Ker Chien- ming (柯建铭) , an MP belonging to the Democratic Progressive Party (民主 进步 党, DPP ) to escape justice .
In his first press conference held this morning , the Minister Tseng defended his innocence , but after a meeting with Prime Minister Jiang Yi- Huah (江宜桦) and with President Ma Ying -jeou (马英九) he resigned . During another press conference he justified this decision , made " to prevent the reputation of the Ministry of Justice being affected by these unfounded allegations ."
The case dates to 2008 when Ker Chien- ming was sentenced under a law on accounting in financial statements . However, following a request for appeal by the same Ker , the Taiwan Supreme Court (台湾 高等法院) declared him innocent , with a verdict issued last June.
But an investigation by the Special Investigation Division (特 侦 组, SID ) revealed that Ker had turned to the parliamentary speaker Wang Jin- pyng (王金平) to ensure a verdict of innocence. Minister Tseng was contacted by Wang Jin- pyng to resolve the issue . In turn, Tseng in collaboration with the chief prosecutor Chen Shou- huang (陈守煌) ordered the verdict dropped.
In the late evening, the Prosecutor General Huang Shi- ming (黄世铭) issued a statement underlining how this type of scandal profoundly damages the image of the entire legal system in Taiwan.
