Phone records suggest that SID knew it was tapping central Legislature phone (2013/10/09)

There is a new, potentially damaging revelation in the Legislature wiretapping case. Under fire after his agency wiretapped a central phone at the lawmaking body, Prosecutor-General Huang Shyh-ming claimed that the incident was a mistake. Huang said that the Special Investigation Division never knew the 0972 number it wiretapped was a general use phone. According to a new report, however, phone records show that the division called the number it was wiretapping and therefore should have known the line’s purpose. 

The latest revelation is in this week’s edition of Next Magazine. It reports that an internal task force at the Ministry of Justice has examined the Legislature’s phone records. One week after tapping the Legislature’s phone in mid-May, the Special Investigation Division placed a call to the number.

Chen Chi-mai
DPP Legislator
The fact that it dialed 0972 shows that it was conducting standard wiretapping procedures. My conclusion is that (the Special Investigation Division) knew that the number 0972 was the Legislature’s phone.

Members of the Legislature visited the telecommunication supervision units of the High Court and the Criminal Investigation Bureau. Their purpose was to learn more about prosecutors’ use of wiretapping. During the visits, DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang questioned claims by the prosecutor-general that all tapes made of the Legislature’s phone line were blank.

Tuan Yi-kang
DPP Legislator
The only way the recordings could be blank would be if we called someone then neither side said a word. We harbor serious suspicions toward the (Special Investigation Division) claims that all the tapes were blank.

Typically, investigators examine wiretap recordings every two days. They should have known if no recordings were being made. Lawmakers plan to continue their own investigation into Special Investigation Division claims.
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1.wiretapping 監聽
2.lawmaking body 立法機構 (Legislature 立法院)
3.Prosecutor-General 檢察總長
4.Special Investigation Division (SID) 特別偵查組 (特偵組)
5.task force 專案小組
6.Ministry of Justice 法務部
7.High Court 高等法院
8.harbor 懷有