Prosecutor in OBI Pharma Case Ruled 'Below Standard' in Performance Review; Second Appeal Leads to Retrial

(Taipei, April 14 — Reporter Liu Shih-yi) Former prosecutor Lin Tsai-pei was rated 'below standard' in his job performance evaluation by the Shilin District Prosecutors Office for allegedly neglecting duties during the prosecution of the OBI Pharma case. Lin challenged the decision in court. The Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in his favor twice, overturning the original decision. The prosecutors' office appealed, and the Supreme Administrative Court recently vacated the lower court's judgment and remanded the case for retrial.

The Shilin District Prosecutors Office stated today that it has not yet received the court's ruling. Once received, it will review the full circumstances of the case and, in subsequent legal proceedings, make all necessary legal arguments, evidence submissions, and explanations to ensure the court's judgment is appropriate and accurate.

The Supreme Administrative Court noted that the first retrial judgment failed to substantively examine multiple procedural and substantive legal violations claimed by Lin. Furthermore, facts previously ordered for investigation in the remand directive remained unclarified, and the reasoning was insufficient. Therefore, further investigation and review are necessary, leading to the vacation of the first retrial judgment and remand for a new hearing.

The court also emphasized that the discrepancy between evaluations by the former and current chief prosecutors should not focus on who conducted the assessment, but rather on whether the 2018 (Year 107) annual performance evaluation was factually accurate, and whether Lin indeed submitted the prosecution statement and properly executed his duties.

The case originated in 2017 (Year 106), when the Shilin District Prosecutors Office indicted OBI Pharma Chairman Chang Nian-tzu and former Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey on corruption charges, alleging that Chang bribed Wong with 3,000 shares of OBI stock. In 2019 (Year 108), after the first-instance court acquitted both defendants, prosecutors abandoned their appeal, finalizing the acquittal. Lin, who had already retired, was the public prosecutor responsible for courtroom appearances and closing arguments in the case.

In 2019, the Shilin District Prosecutors Office determined that Lin failed to follow instructions to circulate the closing statement for review and only delivered the defendant's 500-page rebuttal document to the assisting chief prosecutor shortly before the final oral argument. Citing lack of professionalism and neglect of duty, and considering his regular performance records, they rated his 2018 (Year 107) annual job performance as 'below standard'.

Lin contested the evaluation, asserting no dereliction of duty, and filed an administrative lawsuit. The Taipei High Administrative Court's initial ruling overturned the decision, but it was later vacated by the Supreme Administrative Court and remanded for retrial.

In the first retrial, the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled that Lin's performance evaluation was flawed because the preliminary assessment by the former chief prosecutor and regular performance records were not provided to the evaluation committee, resulting in an incomplete basis for deliberation. The successor chief prosecutor, during a brief evaluation period, issued a rating significantly different from the preliminary assessment without sufficient investigation or consideration of favorable and unfavorable factors. Thus, the 'below standard' rating was deemed unlawful, and the original decision was overturned. The Shilin District Prosecutors Office appealed, leading to review by the Supreme Administrative Court. (Edited by Chang Ya-ching) 1150614