Zhang Youhui, former chairman of the Sugar Association. (File photo)
[Reporter Yang Xinhui/Report from Taipei] After Zhang Youhui, the former chairman of the Sugar Industry Association, resigned, he was hired as a senior consultant without approval from the joint meeting of directors and supervisors. He received a salary and consolation payment of more than 7.72 million yuan in four years. In addition, when he no longer had a directorship with the association, he still received more than 6.28 million yuan in salary, travel expenses, etc., and even filed multiple lawsuits in the name of the association, spending more than 11.06 million yuan in legal fees. The Taiwan Sugar Association filed a lawsuit for compensation. In the first trial, Zhang Youhui and Huang Xiuling, who was the secretary and cashier of the chairman at the time, should return and compensate a total of 12.285934 yuan. After the case was appealed, the High Court dismissed the appeals of the Taiwan Sugar Association and Zhang Youhui and upheld the original judgment, which can be appealed.
The judgment pointed out that Zhang Youhui served as the third chairman of the Sugar Association since 1997, and later served as the fourth to sixth chairman and director respectively with Wu Zechun, the then secretary-general. After Zhang Youhui resigned as the fifth chairman in May 2006, Wu Zechun immediately instructed Huang Xiuling, then secretary and cashier of the chairman, to sign the appointment of Zhang Youhui as a senior consultant.
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From June 2006 to June 2010, Zhang Youhui received a total of 7,723,650 yuan in senior consultant salary and annual holiday condolences. The Sugar Industry Association believed that the relevant appointment was not approved by the joint meeting of directors and supervisors and violated the donation charter. Therefore, it sought compensation from Zhang and Huang. It also claimed that Zhang Youhui and Huang Xiuling were jointly and severally liable for compensation and should be compensated a total of 12.285934 yuan.
The Collegiate Tribunal of the High Court held that the appointment of Zhang Youhui as a senior consultant by the Sugar Industry Association was only done through a signature and was not approved by the joint meeting of directors and supervisors, which violated the donation articles. Zhang received more than 7.72 million yuan in consultant remuneration and consolation money without legal reasons. Therefore, the Sugar Industry Association requested the return of 3 million yuan and interest in accordance with the provisions of unjust enrichment.
The Collegiate Tribunal of the High People's Court determined that the appointment of Zhang Youhui was not signed by Huang Xiuling on his own initiative, but by Wu Zechun's instructions after believing that there was a consensus among the directors. The relevant payments were also signed off at all levels, and the association had a precedent of appointing a former chairman as a senior consultant and maintaining the benefits. The Sugar Industry Association could not prove that Huang Xiuling knew that the relevant procedures violated the articles of association. Therefore, there was no reason to claim that Zhang Youhui and Huang Xiuling jointly infringed and jointly and severally compensated 3 million yuan.
In addition, Zhang Youhui still received a total of 6.285934 yuan in travel expenses, salary and holiday condolences from 2013 to 2016 when he was not a director. The Collegiate Bench of the High Court pointed out that as early as April 2015, the Sugar Industry Association had issued a letter requesting Zhang Youhui not to engage in legal activities in the name of the association, and stated that it did not recognize his behavior of hiring lawyers and conducting litigation. However, Zhang still filed multiple lawsuits in the name of the association, causing the association to expend more than 11.06 million yuan in legal fees. The Sugar Industry Association requested that 3 million yuan of principal and interest be returned.
The first instance ruled that Zhang Youhui should pay a total of 12,285,934 yuan in compensation to the Sugar Industry Association; the Sugar Industry Association and Zhang Youhui appealed against the unsuccessful part of the case respectively. The High Court found that both parties' appeals were unfounded and rejected them all. It upheld the result that Zhang Youhui should pay a total of 12,285,934 yuan in compensation and interest. The Sugar Industry Association and Zhang Youhui can still appeal.
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