The National Police Agency (NPA) yesterday ordered police departments nationwide to be on high alert to protect, escort and store ballots following an incident in Chiayi County’s Shueishang Township (水上) on Sunday.
A Shueishang Township Office official surnamed Hou (侯) reportedly tried to walk out of the Lantan Printing Factory with 333 extra ballots, police said.
He had 19 additional ballots for county commissioner, 13 for county councilors from the first constituency, 100 each for Sanhe (三和), Lioulin (柳林) and Yising (義興) villages, and one for Jinghe Village (靖和), the report said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
An on-site police task force and the Chiayi County Electoral Oversight Committee determined that Hou’s actions were not deliberate and the excess ballots were shredded, police said.
However, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office instructed the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s Chiayi branch to summon Hou to make a statement, after which the case was forwarded to the office.
Police have been dispatched to safeguard the printing, storage and transport of all ballots, the NPA said in a statement.
The agency has collaborated with local election committees to install additional surveillance and lighting equipment, as well as fire extinguishers, it said.
Police have set up surveillance cameras to ensure that ballots remain secure around-the-clock, the agency said.
NPA Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) ordered all police departments to be on heightened alert.
Security measures, such as enforcing curfew hours, checking cameras, patrolling and signing in at checkpoints, should be strictly observed, Chen said.
Identity checks at all the gates of all the factories printing ballots or storage facilities are mandatory and people are not allowed to bring bags onto the premises, Chen added.
The Central Election Commission yesterday said that ballot inspection processes, regardless of which committee is inspecting, are standardized and should be adhered to.
People who enter printing factories must be searched by police, it said.
Any person suspected of taking ballots out of storage or printing facilities should be stopped, and the incident should be reported to the ranking officer on the site and submitted to the local electoral committee, the commission added.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
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