Taiwan's Judiciary: A Shock To The System

"From the beginning, it was always my intention to allow the legal process to take its course, with the aim of getting a fair and impartial trial, based on the principles of ROC law and correct legal procedure. In essence, I put my faith in the system and trusted that the truth would come out.
However, after almost three years of going through Taiwan’s court system, I was shocked and dismayed by the extreme bias with which I was treated, to the degree that I was denied the chance to defend myself fairly."

A Message From Zain Dean (February 1, 2013)

  This second paragraph of Dean's lengthy message, which appeared on Taiwanese.com, Forumosa and other Taiwan websites following news in January of his daring escape from Taiwan, echoes exactly my own naive reasons and beliefs that compelled me to take on the false accusations perpetrated against me by Alice Yang and the National Taipei University of Nursing & Health Sciences (國立臺北護理健康大學). 

  And just like Dean, as the agonizing weeks and months stretched into years, I saw the unabashed truth and horror that is Taiwan's shameful judiciary. Victimized and bullied by a corrupt and sociopathic clique of administrators and their cronies, and hamstrung almost completely by an inept, unprofessional and biased court, I suffered through a 4-year lesson in the harsh realities of (un)due process and the Rule of Men that dominate all facets of the legal processes on the island. 

  Reading his message and the accounts of his first trial, first appeal and final appeal brings back bitter memories of my own frustrations, shocks and dismay brought on by repeated violations of both international and Taiwan's own laws and legal procedures as well as of my human rights. Like Dean, I foolishly put my faith in the government's propaganda that Taiwan is a nation adhering to international standards of law, that Taiwan's laws protect the innocent and victims of wrongdoing, and that Taiwan respects the human rights of all. I trusted that the system would allow the truth and justice to prevail.

  From the sham handling of the nursing university's internal "investigation" and decision to the (mis)handling of my subsequent lawsuit against both Yang and the school, as I pursued my fight for the truth and justice it became more and more apparent that the ranks at all levels of my case had closed and it was an "us vs him" uphill battle that was stacked very heavily against me from the beginning - just as it has been against Zain Dean. 

  All too often in Taiwan's judiciary, the truth is twisted, manipulated or suppressed, and justice is stolen by the very people entrusted and empowered to uphold and use the law for the good of all deserving of its protections.
  Click on A Message From Zain Dean for the full text plus comments from readers.   

Judicial Deja Vu

  As I read back through more and more news articles about the Zain Dean case, I have an overpowering sense of deja vu. The often-times inappropriate, prejudicial and heavy-handed ways Dean's case was handled by the courts, the prosecutor's office, the media, plus the Taiwan public's insatiable appetite to see a foreigner convicted and jailed, has been reminiscent of the way my own case was little more than exercise in style over substance - a comical show put on to give the appearance of due process and true justice that in reality are nearly as elusive in Taiwan as they are in it's close neighbor China.
 On paper and in it's propaganda, Taiwan's judiciary professes to adhere to due process and the Rule of Law, but in practice due process is subservient to the personal views, biases, connections and loyalty to certain patrons of too many judges. If you've ever spent enough time in a Taiwan court (or prosecutor's room), Rule of Law in actuality is Rule of the Judge-God - omnipotent, all-powerful, beyond all reproach...an additional adversary to overcome in an innocent person's quest for appropriate justice. 
  Although I was the plaintiff in my case against the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, the succession of judges in Taipei District Court treated me virtually the same way Zain Dean alleges he was treated as the defendant in his vehicular murder case. The similarities and parallels in how our cases were (mis)handled and manipulated by the courts and other involved parties are numerous and indicative of a long-running and endemic deficiency in Taiwan's judiciary, particularly when cases involve foreign nationals.   
  As evidenced by the Zain Dean case, a very bad beat continues to go on with no positive change in sight. Taiwan's judiciary has many flaws that have been debated for years by critics and the government alike, but very little tangible improvement has been seen. In fact, it appears that the situation may be growing worse and the future looks bleak especially for any expat in Taiwan unfortunate enough to become involved in a legal case. 
  Here is another recent article about the Zain Dean case and a Taiwan TV news story in which Dean again proclaims his innocence:

  Girlfriend of UK fugitive detained
  Zain Dean calls reporters to proclaim his innocence

Injustice Rears It's Ugly Head AGAIN In Taiwan's Judiciary

  It's been such a long time! My time on the quiet has been much longer than I had planned, but it's been time well-spent tending to my work and life here in Saudi, chopping down the mountain of debt accumulated during the height of my legal battles against the dark forces of the National Taipei University of Nursing & Health Sciences, paying more attention to my role as the father of my two young sons, and keeping abreast of relevant news on the continued injustice of Taiwan's judiciary among other things. With some startling recent developments in the case of Zain Dean, a Briton convicted in Taipei District Court in July 2011 of manslaughter in the death of a Taiwanese man while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, it's a very good time to pick up where I left off by introducing his case as a more spectacular example of the prejudice, ineptitude, lack of professionalism and the farce of Taiwan's law enforcement and courts.
  Apparently fed up with being unable to prove his innocence and looking at a jail sentence increased to four years following his appeal of the original 2-1/2 year sentence, he managed to flee Taiwan late last year and is reportedly now in Switzerland, refusing to return to the island without an agreement from prosecutors there guaranteeing certain conditions including a re-trial.
  Here are four recent news stories reporting on some of the latest developments in the Zain Dean case:

  Ministry to ask Switzerland to arrest Zain Dean
  No deal to be cut with Zain Dean: prosecutors
  Convicted killer absconds
  British citizen goes on the run with fake passport

   

Not The Only One to Suffer at The Hands of An Abusive Administration

  Lest any of you get the overly-optimistic notion that my nightmare was just an isolated or rare transgression by the nursing university administration, let's flash forward 4 months to early January 2008 and take a look at an email from Dr. Peng that illustrates another of the kind of underhanded and deplorable tactics the-then administration used to cower and manipulate the Taiwanese admin and teaching staff while abusing their rights.
 

----- Original Message ----
From: sypeng48 sypeng48@yahoo.com.tw
To: Curt D <in8aqua@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 6, 2008 5:11:40 PM
Subject: Justice

Dear Curtis:

I am so glad that you get your way and know how to win for your dignity. 

The authority of NTCN had lost her head!

At the end of 2007, the last working day, the personnel office ordered all the teachers and assistants of special plan (the situation of what your position was) to sign an agreement of salary deduction in the coming year, without any explanation! 50-60 staffs are announced to sign before 2 PM otherwise they will not be employed in the next year. 

Although after fighting they got a promise that the salary will not be changed, but it is harmful to our staffs. All but the decision makers (you can guess who) think what a ridiculous rough policy!  

And, at that day two of the assistant were announced that their contracts will not be renewed. Moreover, the third one was informed at the afternoon of 2nd Jan 2008 to leave her job even she already signed the agreement. The only reason is "according to the date of the contract"! 

One of our colleagues said this event was a copy of what happened on Curtis, although not all the same

Win what you should have from your lawsuit, or NTCN will never give you a cent!    

With Regards

SY Peng   Jan 6  2008

The 國立臺北護理健康大學 Gender (In)Equity Committee's Decision Finally Arrives

Re: You have to Push them

FROM: Curt D

TO: 彭 向陽

BCC: chouaru@yahoo.com.tw

Monday, September 3, 2007 5:57 PM

Hi,

  Attached is the official decision regarding the accusation. Could you please translate it for me and let me know what does this mean?

Curtis

The Idea For a Lawsuit: Born of Another Kind of Mother

----- 原始信件 ----
寄件者： Curt D <in8aqua@yahoo.com>
收件者： 彭 向陽 <sypeng48@yahoo.com.tw>
寄件日期： 2007/6/28(星期四) 下午8:03:25
主　旨： Latest developments

Dear Dr. Peng,

  Hi. Just a short message to tell you a couple very recent developments.

  1. Yesterday afternoon NTCN contacted me to tell me they wanted me to attend a meeting about sexual harassment today at 1:30. I talked to the lawyer later yesterday afternoon. On his advice, at today's Gender Equity meeting I only told them that the accusation was not true, I never did any such thing, completely false. I explain to you later more details, but in the end I did not answer their questions and after insisting many times I will only talk about what happened with the lawyer in attendance, they agreed to have another meeting next Friday afternoon with me and the lawyer.
  2. This afternoon I got a cold, brief letter signed by the president telling me NTCN is not going to give me a new contract because my project has ended. However, as I know the project did not end and my position does have funding. The lawyer agreed that the NTCN contract stating they can end my contract any time is against the higher law. Plus, he said the memo with my next year's schedule is strong proof that they were already going to give me a new contract. He said we must keep quiet about this evidence until the time is right to use it.
  3. Since these two events have just happened, I decided not to attend tomorrow's General Education Center meeting. It is no longer necessary to go.

  Will you be in your office on Friday? If so, let me know what time and I'll stop by to see you some time on Friday.

Sincerely,
Curtis

----- Original Message ----
From: 彭 向陽 <sypeng48@yahoo.com.tw>
To: Curt D <in8aqua@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:15:46 PM
Subject: Re: Latest developments

Dear Curtis:

  I will stay at my office after the meeting of the G Edu centre at noon on Friday.

  Since you have got the letter about the contract, and the investigation of the harassment is on the way, it may be  better not to talk about in the meeting tomorrow.

  Please ask to Dr Huang for the project planning form of the English teaching that I mentioned yesterday, that will be the most obvious evidence that the position is still remained, in addition to  the record of the administration meeting of the college at May 23.

  More important than the memo of your next year's schedule of classes! 

                                                                                     Best Regards
                                                                                           SY Peng  6.28.2007

Curtis W. Diggs Jr. vs 國立臺北護理健康大學: Court Decision Pages 7 - 8

Curtis W. Diggs Jr. vs 國立臺北護理健康大學: Court Decision Pages 5 - 6

Curtis W. Diggs Jr. vs 國立臺北護理健康大學: Court Decision Pages 3 - 4

A Copy of the Court Decision...Finally!

  My friend in Taiwan finally got a copy of the court decision a few days ago after a verbal tussle with the Beitou District Police over whether or not she was authorized to pick up the document on my behalf from their office. Before I left Taiwan I had filed an official pleading with the court stating that I would be leaving Taiwan and my friend had my authorization to receive the court's decision.   

  Even after that, the court still could not manage to do things correctly - first sending the decision to the address where I no longer lived, and then not notifying the Beitou police that my friend had permission to receive the document. So much unprofessionalism among Taiwan's judicial, law enforcement (what an oxymoron!) and government officials.

  The court decision is 18 pages long, so I will post it gradually, a couple pages at a time over the next several days. It is a faxed copy that was scanned by my friend so it's a bit rough. Later when I get the original document I'll scan it myself and re-post the better images.

  For now I don't have much to say about the decision because I've only gotten a very general translation of some key points from my friend - the most key point being that the court ruled against me in my lawsuit on all points. When I can get a more detailed translation I'll be able to comment better on the judges' arguments, problems, etc. Another point my friend shared was that NOWHERE does the decision mention that "several witnesses saw me touch the accuser". It's either a fabrication of those who spread the decision to the media or just plain bad, inaccurate, sensationalized reporting by Taiwan's media.

  Here are the first two pages of the Taipei District Court's decision:

 

The Email That Started This Nightmare & Illegally Exposed My Name

  Another of the chief culprits in this conspiracy and fraud is Dr. Shiow-luan Tsai (主任 蔡秀鸞 教授), a professor and dean of the nursing department at the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences (國立臺北護理健康大學). I had already been alerted by another of the Taiwanese faculty a few months earlier of Dr. Tsai's efforts to force me out of the school by the end of the 2007 academic year, but the professor assured me that the she and other faculty members had defeated Dr. Tsai's attempts and my job was safe. Well...it was until almost the end of the semester!
  This email includes a copy of Alice Yang's statement to her school mentor about what she alleged happened on June 4, 2007, and is the first of many versions of her story.

                                                         The Email