Five prosecutors have led the way in investigating and charging 40 people in the bribery scandal stemming from last year's Kaohsiung City Council speakership election.
According to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office, 15 prosecutors have worked on the case but five of them were key to the investigation.
These five are Hsiao Yu-cheng (蕭宇誠), Chuang Jung-sung (莊榮松), Lee Jing-wen (李靜文), Hung Hsin-shu (洪信旭) and Yeh Shu-wen (葉淑文).
The 48-year-old Hsiao is the eldest of the five and the team leader.
Hsiao entered the Law Department at National Chung Hsing University in 1980 after he retired from the marines as a captain.
Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chou Chang-chin (周章欽), High Court Judge Lu Tai-lang (呂太郎) and TSU Legislator Su Ying-kuei (蘇盈貴) were his college classmates.
Chou said that Hsiao graduated from college with honors.
"He played all the time but he still did well on exams," he said. "This told us that he is very smart and good at outlining the materials he needs to absorb, which is an important skill as a law enforcement officer."
After graduation, Hsiao was hired as a clerk at the Tax Bureau, where he worked for four years.
Hsiao said money was one of the reasons he wanted to change careers.
"I am not that aggressive when it comes to money, but, since Su kept encouraging me, I decided to take the national exam so that I could become a lawyer, a prosecutor or a judge. I admit that making more money was one of my concerns when I decided to devote myself to this field. I was dead broke," Hsiao said. "Su said that it would be easier to make more money if I passed the exam. So I did."
Hsiao passed the national exam for judicial officials, which includes prosecutors and judges, in 1989. After the 18-month training course for judicial officials, he became a prosecutor.
Chuang is 11 years younger than Hsiao. He received a bachelor's degree from the Law Department at Fu Jen Catholic University in 1988. He passed the bar exam immediately after graduation.
In 1994 he completed the training course for judicial officials and became a judge. Four years later he became a prosecutor.
As a former judge, Chuang was able to discuss with his colleagues from a judge's point of view what kinds of evidence or statements would be strong enough to be presented in court.
Chuang said that a judge's job is to review the facts while a prosecutor's job is to discover those facts.
"I love being a prosecutor more than being a judge," Chuang said. "A judge's job is to review the facts that prosecutors presented and decide whether the defendants are guilty. However, a prosecutor has to find the evidence ... it's more challenging."
Hung is a year younger than Chuang and is also a graduate of Fu Jen's Law Department.
Hung's colleagues call him watchdog because, when dealing with suspects and investigating a case, he is aggressive and keeps fighting until the last minute.
"I will not let go of any suspects or clues if I do not have what I want. It is my job to find the truth," he said.
Lee, with a bachelor's degree in law from Tunghai University, finished her training course in the same year as Chuang.
In addition to being a prosecutor, Lee, 35, is also a licensed banker who worked for the Kaohsiung Bank for five months before joining the force.
"Being a banker and a prosecutor are totally different things, [but] they are both challenging to me," she said.
Yeh joined the force in 1993. Her role in the team was as Hsiao's assistant. In addition, she became a member of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office's Black Gold Investigation Section last year.
Yeh is also a graduate student in National Chung Cheng University's law program.
Yeh's work performance was highlighted by her colleagues. But she has always tried to keep a low profile.
"I am just doing my job," she said.
The five-person team finished its investigation and indicted 40 people in the case on April 7. Thirty-four of the defendants are Kaohsiung City councilors.
Prosecutors are seeking prison terms for the 34, including council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) and Vice Speaker Tsai Sung-hsiung (蔡松雄), of between six and 30 months.
Prosecutors suggested a 30-month sentence for Chu and 28 months for Tsai.
On Dec. 25 last year, Chu won the speakership after gaining 25 of 44 votes.
Chu is accused of having bought votes from his fellow councilors for NT$5 million each.
According to the indictment, independent Councilor Tsai Ching-yuan (蔡慶源) had prepared to run for the speakership by paying five councilors NT$5 million each for their votes through PFP Councilor Lee Jung-chung (李榮宗).
On Dec. 24, after determining that he was destined to fail in the race, Tsai met with Chu and persuaded Chu to cover his expenses in exchange for backing Chu's bid.
Meanwhile, Tsai agreed to give up his bid for the speakership and sold five votes, for which he had paid NT$5 million each, to Chu.
Of the 34 councilors, 10 are DPP members, 10 belong to the KMT, six to the PFP and eight are independents.
The six defendants who are not councilors include DPP Legislator Lin Chin-hsing (林進興), former Kaohsiung Civil Affairs Bureau director Wang Wen-cheng (王文正) and the director of Chu's campaign office, Hsien Chi-yu (賢繼宇).
Wang and Hsien allegedly helped Chu distribute bribe money.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as