The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won 15 out of 23 positions in yesterday's city and county council speakership elections, while the eight remaining posts went to independents.
In the deputy speakership races, the KMT won 14, independent councilors gained eight posts and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won just one.
The results were not without controversy as several of the winners have already been charged with or are suspected of involvement in corruption or vote-buying.
PHOTO: CNA
The Ministry of Justice said in a press statement that prosecutors nationwide had received many tips about vote-buying, and they would continue to probe the matter.
The re-elected speaker of the Tainan County Council, Wu Chien-pao (
Wu is alleged to have earned more than NT$1 billion (US$30.3 million) selling sand illegally quarried from the Tsengwen River (
Re-elected Changhua County Council Speaker Pai Hung-shen (
Re-elected Kaohsiung County Council Speaker Hsu Fu-sen (許福森), of the KMT, has a case pending against him in the Kaohsiung District Court. Hsu is charged with taking bribes and helping several unlicensed industrial waste handlers to secure waste disposal contracts. He is also charged with running a firm that dumped waste illegally.
Several Kaohsiung prosecutors appeared at the offices of the Kaohsiung County Council yesterday to supervise the election.
The city's prosecutors raided an illegal gambling house on Saturday night that was suspected of being used to generate funds for Hsu's speakership campaign.
Prosecutors suspect Hsu of offering councilors bribes ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million in exchange for votes.
Hsu, Pai and Wu are all suspected of maintaining ties with gangsters.
Independent Tainan City Council Speaker Huang Yu-wen (
Huang allegedly received more than NT$100 million from Yiching Construction to arrange for the firm to win a contract in the Heshunliao (
Early yesterday morning the Tainan District Court issued an arrest warrant for KMT Tainan County Councilor Chen Tsung-hsing (
Chen's detention forced KMT Councilor Chou Szu-hai (
"We learned that Chen paid 22 councilors amounts ranging from NT$800,000 to NT$1 million. We are hoping that the councilors can report the matter to prosecutors voluntarily," said Yen Jung-sung (
Yen applied for permission to detain Chen late on Tuesday night, and the court agreed to his request early yesterday morning.
Independent Taitung County Councilor Lin Fu-hsiung (
His suggestion sparked a huge quarrel on the floor of the council.
Taitung County Councilor Li Chin-huei (
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