Chiang Ching-kuo's grandson pays fine in lieu of prison time
CNA
2015-06-11
Andrew Chiang leaves the Shilin District Court after a hearing on March 13, 2014. (Photo/Chen Chun-wei)
A grandson of the late ROC president Chiang Ching-kuo paid a NT$183,000 (US$5,900) fine in lieu of serving jail time Thursday in a case in which he was convicted of intimidation over threats he directed against Taipei American School (TAS).
Andrew Chiang, 24, a former TAS student who transferred out of the private school in 2006, was indicted in November 2013 after he repeatedly made threatening comments against the school and its faculty, especially the deputy superintendent, on Facebook and in emails, between August and November of that year.
An investigation by prosecutors found that for two years, Chiang had been making loud noises near the TAS campus in the northern Taipei district of Tienmu to create disturbances in protest over what he called unfair treatment by the school's deputy superintendent while he was a student there.
On Aug. 21, 2013, he turned to Facebook to voice his anger, writing status updates in which he threatened to "slaughter" people at the school.
He also sent emails from his home to the TAS deputy superintendent threatening to "spoil his life and throw him into jail," according to prosecutors.
Chiang denied the charges, saying that the Facebook posts were just emotional outbursts and that some simply copied lyrics from pop songs.
In December 2014, however, he was sentenced to six months behind bars by the Shilin District Court. The sentence could be commuted into a fine.
Chiang appealed the case but later withdrew his appeal. The case was declared closed in March.
