Witness in Cheng Wen-tsan's Corruption Case Claims Mild Dementia in Court

(CNA, reporter Wu Jui-chi, Taoyuan, 19th) The Taoyuan District Court held a hearing today for the corruption case involving former Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan. Liao Chun-sung, who appeared as a witness, claimed to have dementia and appeared mentally unwell, prompting the defense to question his testimony which reportedly has many discrepancies with the indictment. The presiding judge announced a recess, with the trial to resume next month. Cheng Wen-tsan is accused of corruption in the land development expansion of the Gongwu Industrial Zone in the Linkou Special District (Hwa Ya Technology Park), involving a bribe of NT$5 million. He was indicted by the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for violating the Anti-Corruption Act, with prosecutors seeking a 12-year sentence. At the Taoyuan District Court hearing today, 75-year-old defendant Liao Chun-sung appeared as a witness for cross-examination. The prosecutor asked about the purpose of inviting Cheng Wen-tsan to dinner twice, on August 6 and August 22, 2017. Liao stated that he had asked for Cheng's help with land development, mainly because the Hwa Ya Park urgently needed expansion. He requested that the city government take a supportive stance during the review by the Ministry of the Interior's urban planning committee, and that if the ministry approved, the city government would agree to a self-managed land consolidation by the landowners. Liao pointed out that on September 14, 2017, he and his son, Liao Li-ting, entered the official residence with a bag containing NT$5 million. He asked Liao Li-ting to step aside and tossed the bag under a table himself. He believed Cheng should support the development project as a matter of course and shouldn't have taken money, stating, "I was reluctant, that's why I tossed it under the table." After Cheng arrived, Liao again asked for help with the Hwa Ya Park project. As he was leaving, he made a "5" hand gesture to Cheng, who nodded. However, the defense denies Cheng was aware of this. Cheng Wen-tsan's defense team said that Liao never directly told Cheng what was in the bag, and couldn't even fully confirm if Cheng saw the "5" gesture when he left. This unilateral act of "stuffing it under the table" and "dropping it off" without mutual confirmation completely goes against the empirical rule of reaching a mutual agreement for bribery in typical corruption cases. It also confirms that Cheng did not directly receive the funds, and it was impossible for the two to have reached a bribery agreement. They also questioned the numerous contradictions in Liao's testimony, noting many discrepancies with the indictment. Liao himself stated in court that he has mild dementia. The prosecution has placed the entire burden of proof for the indictment on this witness whose testimony is inconsistent and whose memory is confused, which undoubtedly makes the evidentiary strength of the indictment extremely weak. As Liao claimed to have dementia and appeared mentally unwell during questioning, he repeatedly gave irrelevant answers during the cross-examination by Cheng's legal team, and multiple times short