|
Alzheimer’s keeps ex-Yuanta leader Ma out of prison
Staff writer, with CNA
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday decided not to enforce a prison sentence given to a 74-year-old financier for breach of trust, based on evidence the man suffers from severe cognitive impairment.
The Supreme Court handed down the penalty of seven years and four months to Yuanta Group founder and former Yuanta Financial Holding Co chairman Rudy Ma (馬志玲) in June. He was to start serving the term in August.
However, Ma’s attorney appealed for the suspension of prison term, saying his client has been in a state of non compos mentis — mentally incapable of handling his affairs — for years.
At the request of prosecutors, a hospital’s psychiatry department examined Ma and diagnosed him with Alzheimer’s disease.
Although he does not have to serve his prison sentence now, Ma could be jailed in the future if he is found to have recovered his mental faculties, prosecutors said.
Ma and his wife, former Yuanta Securities Co chairwoman Judy Tu (杜麗莊), were sentenced by the Supreme Court on June 30 for profiting from irregular trading. Tu is serving her sentence.
source: Taipei Times
|
