Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming has offered to resign after the watchdog Control Yuan passed a motion to impeach him earlier in the day for dereliction of duty and lack of integrity, Justice Minister Wang Ching-feng said Tuesday. According to Wang, Chen tendered his resignation shortly after the Control Yuan impeached him and asked the Ministry of Justice to take 'urgent action' against him as soon as possible. Wang said Chen's resignation letter had been forwarded to the Executive Yuan for submission to President Ma Ying-jeou for approval. If Chen's resignation is accepted, Ma will have to name a new candidate for the top prosecutorial post within three months for legislative approval. Before Ma formally appoints Chen's replacement -- with Legislative Yuan endorsement -- the minister of justice will have to name a senior prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors Office to serve as acting prosecutor-general. The motion to impeach Chen cleared the supreme watchdog body by a vote of 8-3. It was the second impeachment bid by Control Yuan members Li Ful-dien and Chien- Lin Whei-jun after an earlier bid failed to gain a majority vote Jan. 5. Chen was impeached over his association with Huang Fang-yen, a close friend of former President Chen Shui-bian. According to the findings of the Control Yuan's probe, Chen Tsung-ming attended a dinner party hosted by Huang Feb. 26, 2007. Huang fled Taiwan in November 2008 before prosecutors could question him in connection with charges of money laundering against former President Chen Shui- bian, and he was later listed by prosecutors as a defendant and a fugitive in the Chen Shui-bian case in March 2009. It was suggested in the local media that before Huang fled the country, he was tipped off by Chen Tsung-ming, although the latter denied the allegation. However, the Control Yuan faulted Chen Tsung-ming for failing to take precautions against Huang fleeing the country. The Control Yuan also criticized the top prosecutor for meeting with Tsai Chu- hsiung, a builder, a friend of Chen Shui-bian and a witness in the case against the former president. In a separate decision, the Control Yuan asked the Ministry of Justice to take 'urgent action' against the prosecutor-general, meaning that he should be removed from his post before his term expires in 2011. Even if Ma approves Chen Tsung-ming's resignation, the impeachment case will still be heard by the Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries, which will decide whether he should be reprimanded. Chen Tsung-ming, who was nominated by Chen Shui-bian and approved by the Legislative Yuan as the nation's top prosecutor for a four-year term, took office Jan. 24, 2007. Since learning of the efforts to impeach him, he has maintained his innocence. After tendering his resignation, he issued a statement saying he felt distressed and wronged by 'relentless ill-motivated attacks on him and his colleagues' at the Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office during his tenure. Claiming that everything he has done in the execution of his duties can withstand public scrutiny, he said he decided to quit his post mainly because he is fed up with the 'vicious criticisms.' 