Former Taiwanese judge suspected of shipping North Korean coal to Vietnam

前台灣法官疑將北韓煤運往越南

Former Taiwanese High Court judge suspected of shipping coal from North Korea for sale in Vietnam


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Taipei District prosecutors on Monday (Jan. 30) summoned a former Taiwanese judge, his son and two other suspects for allegedly shipping coal from North Korea to Vietnam, in direct violation of international sanctions against the totalitarian hermit regime of Kim Jong-un for its missile and nuclear weapons tests, reported CNA.

Prosecutors allege that former High Court Judge Chiang Kuo-hua (江國華), along with his son Chiang Heng (江衡) from August to September of last year chartered a cargo vessel via a Chinese middleman to transport anthracite coal from North Korea to Vietnam, which was a direct violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea for its weapons programs. He also allegedly turned off the global positioning system (GPS) tracking system on the ship, bought false certificates of origin and forged the log.

Chief Prosecutor Hsiao Fang-chou (蕭方舟) along with prosecutors Pai Sheng-wen (白勝文) and Chen Chien-hung (陳建宏) allege that Chiang, his son and two other accomplices with forging documents, violating the Terrorism Prevention Act. On Sunday (Jan. 28), over 70 prosecutors and police raided seven separate company offices and residences associated with the suspects and summoned the four suspects as well as four witnesses.

The elder Chiang has yet to appear in court or respond to questioning by prosecutors as he is currently in the hospital due to "physical discomfort." Prosecutors will apply for an additional warrant to meet their request to respond to questioning.

As for Chiang's son, prosecutors believe he is a key figure in the case after they questioned him on the matter. Prosecutors have applied for his detention to prevent him from tampered with evidence or conspiring with witnesses.

The remaining two suspects have each been released after each posted bail of NT$100,000.

North Korea has ample reserves of anthracite coal, the purest form of coal, with 4.5 billion tonnes, which would be a major source of revenue for the cash-strapped regime if it could bypass sanctions.

A little over a week ago, on Jan. 19, Chen Shih-hsien (陳世憲), the Taiwanese businessman accused of supplying oil to North Korea in violation of international sanctions tried but failed to commit suicide at his home.