A Keelung theft case has turned into an open fight between the court and prosecutors, an embarrassing look for Taiwan's justice system.

• A man used his feet to hook a fellow train passenger's backpack and walked off with 600,000 NT in cash.
• Police tracked him down, recovered part of the money, and prosecutors charged him with theft.
• Prosecutors asked the court to confiscate the clothes and shoes he wore during the crime, calling them tools of the offense.
• The judge refused, called the request absurd, joked that a defendant can't commit a crime naked, and guessed the indictment was ghostwritten by an assistant.
• The prosecutors' office pushed back, asking judges to drop the emotional language and stick to the law.

Outlook: The man got six months in prison, but the public spat between judges and prosecutors is likely to keep drawing criticism about how the two sides treat each other.