The family of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung by-election candidate Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) owns a guest house that was built illegally on national property, National Property Administration Taichung Central District (中區) Division Director Chao Tzu-hsien (趙子賢) said yesterday.
The guest house in Taichung’s Nantun District (南屯) occupies two plots of national land, Chao said, adding that he would commission a lawyer to set up the process of having the building demolished and the land returned to the government, as well as to seek an indictment.
Allegations that the guest house was illegally constructed had prompted calls for an investigation by city officials, so Chao went to survey the property and confirm whether it was illegal.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
“Looking at aerial photographs we confirmed that the building was constructed in 2004. This use of the land breaches the regulations,” he said. “We will have the property returned and proceed with a legal investigation.”
The building of the guest house might also involve breaches of the Criminal Code, which would be determined by prosecutors via an investigation, he said.
Yen Kuan-heng’s brother, Yen Jen-hsien (顏仁賢), yesterday said that the property would be demolished in two weeks.
Democratic Progressive Party Taichung by-election candidate Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) yesterday said that public figures should “work for the benefit of the public, not for their own benefit of that of their family.”
Voters would use the news as important information when deciding who to vote for in Sunday’s by-election, she said.
The by-election to fill the seat for Taichung’s second electoral district follows the recall of former legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party in October.
Additional reporting by Ou Su-mei
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