High-Profile Court Case in Taiwan: Prosecutor's Attendance Sparks Controversy

The Case of Ko Hong-an and the Alleged False Accusation: A Deep Dive into the Taiwanese Legal System

The legal proceedings surrounding the suspended Hsinchu City Mayor, Ko Hong-an, and the allegations of plagiarism concerning her doctoral thesis, have taken a new turn. Following a challenge from professor Chen Shih-fen regarding the thesis's originality, Ko Hong-an brought a defamation suit against Chen Shih-fen, which was unsuccessful. Subsequently, Chen Shih-fen filed a counter-suit against Ko Hong-an for false accusation. In the initial ruling, the court found that Ko Hong-an's doctoral thesis did indeed contain instances of plagiarism, leading to a ten-month prison sentence on the charge of false accusation.

During the preparatory phase of the trial at the Taiwan High Court, the presence of prosecutor Lee Yu-shuang from the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office sparked public discussion. Media outlets described this as an "unusual" occurrence. However, the High Prosecutors Office clarified that Article 330 of the Criminal Procedure Code permits prosecutors to attend self-initiated prosecution cases and express their opinions. The attendance of Lee Yu-shuang was in response to a formal notification from the court.

According to the High Prosecutors Office's statement, the court is mandated to notify prosecutors of the trial dates in self-initiated prosecution cases. The prosecutors, in turn, are "permitted" to attend and provide their perspective. In this instance, Prosecutor Lee Yu-shuang is the public prosecutor assigned to Judge Chen Szu-fan, who is presiding over the Ko Hong-an case. Lee's attendance was based on an official invitation from the High Court.