TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Taitung County Magistrate Justin Huang (黃健庭) was found not guilty of corruption but sentenced to two months in prison for tax evasion, reports said Wednesday (Aug. 26).

The verdict cannot be appealed, but the prison term can be commuted to a fine, according to a Liberty Times report.

Last June, a wave of protests erupted after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) nominated Huang to serve as vice president of the Control Yuan, the country’s top government watchdog body.

Some of the criticism was based on Huang’s alleged acceptance of kickbacks totaling NT$2.08 million (US$70,800) from pharmaceutical companies in 2004 during his stint as a Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker.

While he was found not guilty of corruption, he still faces charges for violations of the Accounting Act and for tax evasion. The Taipei District Court first sentenced him to one year in jail with six months suspended.

During the legal process, the sentence was repeatedly reduced until the Supreme Court decided Wednesday that the case should be concluded with a two-month prison sentence replaceable by a fine.