Lawyer negotiating for detained diplomat's deportation (update)

Central News Agency
2011-11-18 08:31 PM

Kansas City, Nov. 18 (CNA) A Taiwanese diplomat held in custody in Kansas City since Nov. 10 on charges of violating U.S. labor laws could be deported right after a U.S. court hands down a ruling on the controversial case, her lawyer said Thursday. Attorney James Wirken said the immediate deportation was part of a plea bargain agreement reached with prosecutors in the labor fraud case involving Jacqueline Liu, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Kansas City. Once Liu boards the aircraft and U.S. homeland security officers disembark from the cabin, U.S. judicial authorities will no longer interfere with the case, and Taiwan will take over jurisdiction.

Liu's family members arrived in Kansas City Thursday evening in preparation for a "waiver and plea hearing" scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Friday, Kansas City time and were ready to accompany the diplomat back to Taiwan. Liu, charged with underpaying and overworking her Filipina maid in violation of their contract, waived her right to a bail hearing at a federal district court Wednesday and remained in custody as a result. After discussing the case with U.S. prosecutors, Wirken said Liu has agreed to plead guilty at a "waiver and plea hearing" scheduled for Friday in exchange for avoiding judicial proceedings that tend to involve many witnesses.

"We are going to plead guilty to the single charge that's against her," he said, with Liu to be placed on probation and deported. If the judge at the hearing agrees to the plea bargain terms, the case will come to a conclusion, Wirken said, but once Liu pleads guilty, she will have a criminal record and will not be allowed to enter U.S. territory over the next 10 years. Liu was charged with fraud in foreign labor contracting, an offense that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of US$250,000.

One of the agreements reached with prosecutors was that Liu will have to pay damages to her Filipina housekeeper, Wirken said, but he would not disclose the amount of the proposed settlement. An affidavit filed against Liu said the Taiwanese diplomat paid her maid US$400-US$450 a month instead of the US$1,240 contracted and forced the Philippines national 16-18 hours a day rather than the eight hours stipulated in the contract. According to Wirken, the U.S. Department of State, the Republic of China (Taiwan) government and the Filipina housekeeper have fully participated in seeking a solution to the case. Without the participation of the Department of State, the case could not have been settled, he said.

In his negotiations with U.S. prosecutors, Wirken said he did not insist on Liu's right to diplomatic immunity for two reasons. He said that the U.S. State Department disagreed with the argument that the case was covered by a bilateral agreement on privileges, immunities and exemptions and that whether Liu had immunity or not would not affect her rights and interests based on the charges brought up by prosecutors. (By Tony Liao, Oscar Wu and Sofia Wu)

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