Taiwan's Supreme Court has brought an end to a public works corruption case that dragged on for 14 years — bad news for two former transport officials.

• Li Tai-ming, former Director-General of the National Freeway Bureau, was sentenced to four years in prison, and Hung Ming-chien, former head of the Expansion Engineering Office, to three years and six months. The verdicts are final.
• The two were found to have forced through a change in the construction method for retaining walls, without any assessment, during the 2008 Wanli–Ruibin line interchange project, allowing a particular construction contractor to earn roughly NT$3.3 million in additional profit.
• The case swung back and forth after charges were filed in 2012: acquittal at first instance, conviction on appeal, and three remands by the Supreme Court, stretching the proceedings over 14 years.
• Because the trial took so long, the court reduced the sentences under the Criminal Speedy Trial Act, leaving both men with lighter terms than those handed down at the appellate level.

• Prosecutors have activated measures to prevent the pair from fleeing and are preparing to enforce the sentences.

Outlook: What follows is the process of committing them to prison; the case now has no room left for reversal in the courts.