The Taiwan High Court handed down heavy sentences on six former and incumbent lawmakers Wednesday for taking bribes from herbal medicine dealers in the late 1990s, overturning the lower court's 'not guilty' verdict. Meanwhile, the high court maintained an 8.5-year prison sentence for former Legislator Liao Fu-pen, and extended the prison term for former Legislator Chiu Chui-chen from eight to 10 years. The lighter sentences were given by the Taipei District Court on Jan. 23, 2009. The defendants can still appeal the case in the Supreme Court. Two incumbent lawmakers, Lee Chun-yee of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party and Hsu Shu-po of the ruling Kuomintang, were each sentenced to seven years and six months in prison, in an overturn of the district court's acquittal. Four former legislators who were found not guilty in the first trial were also given heavy prison sentences in the high court ruling. Two of them were Lin Kuang-hua and Chao Yung-ching of the DPP, both of whom were sentenced to eight years in prison. The other two were Feng Ting-kuo of the People first Party, who was sentenced to seven years and two months in prison, and Chen Hung-chi of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, who was given a seven-year sentence. All eight defendants will also be deprived of their civil rights for three to eight years and are required to repay the money they received in bribes, the high court ruled.The bribes range from NT$300,000 (US$9,375) to NT$10 million. The verdict stated that the National Union of Chinese Medicine Assoications lobbied lawmakers in 1996 to amend the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act to allow herbal dealers to have prescription rights. Chiu was convicted of having accepted bribes in three installments, amounting to NT$10 million, from the union between 1997 and 1998 through his brother, a herbal medicine dealer. Liu was found guilty of having asked the association to pay him NT$10 million to help ensure passage of the legal amendment, but he only received NT$6 million, according to the high court ruling. The other six were convicted of accepting bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars to NT$2 million. 