Chen Ming-wen (陳明文)

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), who has been convicted of leaking classified information when he was serving as Chiayi magistrate 2001-2009, was sentenced Tuesday by the Taiwan High Court's Tainan Branch to a six-month prison term, which can be commuted to a fine.

Chen, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator, was found guilty of leaking the floor price of a bid for underground sewage works in Minhsiung Township to Lai Wen-cheng (賴文正), director of Wei Meng (偉盟) Co., which won the bid, in 2007.

Chen said in an interview at the Legislative Yuan that he could not accept the ruling and that he will discuss the verdict with his lawyers after receiving it.

Chen said that the whole case is a political act and that certain people have been attempting to influence the law.

Chen was found innocent in the first trial of the case by the Chiayi District Court in September 2012, with the verdict stating the company that won the bid did not benefit from the information leaked. The ruling was appealed by prosecutors.

Chen's lawyers said they will wait until they have studied the verdict before deciding if they will appeal.

(By Chang Jung-hsiang, Huang Guo-fang, Wen Kuei-hsiang and William Yen)
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