Former Taitung County Councilor Yan Hui-mei Acquitted in Bribery Case

(Taipei, June 13) Former Taitung County Councilor Yan Hui-mei was accused of cash bribery, found guilty in the first and second trials, but the Taiwan High Court's retrial acquitted her. The court ruled that the confession of the bribe-takers alone was insufficient evidence, and the case can still be appealed. Yan Hui-mei is considering whether to run for the county council election again.

Yan Hui-mei, who was elected as a county councilor, was accused of cash bribery by her opponent after taking office and was sued for invalidation of her election. The prosecution also received a report and intervened in the investigation.

During the investigation by the Taitung District Prosecutors Office, two bribe-takers confessed that Yan Hui-mei handed over cash of NT$2,000 during a handshake while campaigning. Yan Hui-mei denied the crime.

In the lawsuit for invalidation of her election, both the Taitung District Court and the Taiwan High Court ruled that Yan Hui-mei's election was invalid and the ruling was finalized. Yan Hui-mei was removed from office.

In the criminal case, the Taitung District Court sentenced Yan Hui-mei to four years in prison and four years of deprivation of civil rights. Yan Hui-mei appealed to the High Court, which maintained the guilty verdict. Yan Hui-mei appealed to the Supreme Court, which remanded the case for retrial. On May 29, the High Court acquitted Yan Hui-mei in the retrial.

Yan Hui-mei's defense attorney, Huang Jianming, stated that Yan Hui-mei did not bribe by handing over NT$2,000, and the confession of the bribe-takers lacked corroborating evidence, which could not prove the crime.

The retrial judge stated in the judgment that confessions of bribery may receive leniency in sentencing, which inherently carries a greater risk of falsity. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on corroborating evidence to ensure the truthfulness of the confession and to provide evidence that would not raise any doubt in the general public. The court could not be convinced of the guilt based on the confession alone. According to the principle of in dubio pro reo, the court should make a ruling in favor of the defendant, and therefore acquitted her.

The chief prosecutor of the Taitung District Prosecutors Office, Ke Boqing, stated that the next step would be decided after discussing with the prosecutors.

Yan Hui-mei has not yet decided whether to run in the upcoming county council election. (Editor: Li Xizhang) 1150613

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