President Ma Ying-jeou found himself the target of public anger once again this week over the nomination of the controversial judge, Shao Yen-ling, to the Constitutional Court.

Shao provoked public outrage last year by her questionable ruling in a sexual assault case involving a three-year-old girl, which later prompted a massive protest demanding her removal.

And Ma's nomination of her this time is widely considered an act of gross insensitivity.

In response, Ma immediately replaced Shao with another nominee, and openly apologized to the nation for his mistake in an emergency press conference yesterday, claiming he was not aware at the time of Shao's involvement in the legal controversy last year.