Pingtung County prosecutors indicted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Aboriginal Legislator Chien Tung-ming (簡東明) and 57 other people on election law violations and vote-buying charges yesterday, after wrapping up a nearly two-month-long investigation.
The indictment was another strike against Chien, after prosecutors filed a court application on Feb. 19 as part of an investigation into vote-buying to nullify his election in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections.
Lawmakers yesterday discussed options on how to fill the potential vacancy should Chien be found guilty in the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office case, which would cause him to lose his seat in the legislature, including awarding the seat to the Aboriginal candidate with the next-highest number of votes or holding a by-election.
Also indicted were Ma Chao-ming (馬昭明), director of the KMT’s local chapter in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), and Wang Jung-yi (王榮儀), director of the KMT’s local chapter in Pingtung’s Majia Township (瑪家).
The 58 indicted also included other local KMT members, members of Chien’s campaign and residents who admitted to having taken money in exchange for votes for Chien.
Pingtung head prosecutor Yang Wan-li (楊婉莉) said that after questioning suspects, witness testimonies and other evidence pointed to Chien having had direct involvement in vote-buying and other election law violations.
Yang alleged that during the campaign, Chien gave Wang NT$148,000 to buy votes in Majia and NT$123,000 for Wang to pass on to Ma to buy votes in Sandimen.
Chien allegedly provided lists of KMT members and local residents, to whom Wang disbursed between NT$1,500 and NT$3,000 each in exchange for votes for Chien, with some residents receiving as much as NT$7,000 for their votes, prosecutors said.
Upon learning of the indictments, Chien said: “The funds we distributed were wages for campaign activities, not money to buy votes. Prosecutors have committed a mistake, which has resulted in my campaign workers and supporters being indicted. I feel helpless in this situation, but the legal system will find me innocent of the charges.”
However, prosecutors said that the money was disbursed to eligible voters and not as payment for services rendered, adding that there were no receipts or instructions for any “work” done.
As the distribution of money was done in a furtive way, prosecutors viewed the funds as bribes given to local residents for their votes and indicted Chien and the others for contravening the Civil Servants Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
Chien, 64, is a member of Pingtung County’s Paiwan community. He also goes by his Paiwan name, Uliw Qaljupayare.
He first represented the KMT after winning an Aboriginal legislator seat in 2008, which was followed by judicial proceedings against him on charges of vote-buying during that election.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS