Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee member Hsiao Ching-tien (蕭景田) on Thursday was charged with breaching the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) for allegedly buying votes on behalf of Taipei City Councilor Lin Hsing-er (林杏兒) in the local elections in November last year, the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office said.
In a statement released the same day, the office said that 11 people — Hsiao, vote broker Tseng Fan-chuan (曾繁川) and borough wardens — were indicted on charges linked to accepting bribes or engaging in vote-buying during Lin’s campaign in the run-up to the Nov. 26 vote.
Prosecutors have confiscated NT$110,000 (US$3,608.92) that was allegedly used for bribes, the office said.
Photo: CNA
Lin, who denies any knowledge of the alleged vote-buying, has been designated a witness, it said.
One of the defendants, surnamed Chang (張), was granted deferred prosecution after admitting wrongdoing and returning money he received, it added.
Hsiao and Tseng bought votes for Lin, who ran for city councilor in Taipei’s first electoral district, which comprises Shilin (士林) and Beitou (北投) districts, the indictment read.
On Nov. 22 last year, Hsiao and Tseng were driven by a volunteer worker from Lin’s campaign office to visit several local candidates as part of a plan devised by Hsiao, who handed them envelopes each containing NT$10,000 and campaign leaflets in exchange for their support, it said.
Prosecutors searched the offices and residences of Hsiao and Tseng in December last year after receiving a tip-off.
Although both denied having engaged in vote-buying, envelopes containing cash, recordings of conversations between Tseng and other defendants, and video footage showing the movement of personnel and vehicles at the offices of several candidates were seized, leading prosecutors to believe that bribes were paid, it said.
Hsiao fled his residence in Changhua County in late December last year.
The 69-year-old voluntarily reported to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office on Jan. 3, five days after the office issued a warrant for his arrest.
Prosecutors twice asked that Hsiao be detained and held incommunicado, but the High Court rejected the requests and upheld a Shilin District Court order to release Hsiao, first on NT$8 million bail and later on NT$15 million bail, arguing that he was neither a flight risk nor capable of destroying, forging or colluding with others to tamper with evidence.
Meanwhile, the Shilin District Court is still hearing a suit filed by prosecutors on Dec. 30 last year to overturn Lin’s election victory due to the allegations.
Lin, who took office on Dec. 25, on Thursday said that she respects the judiciary and believes her name will be cleared.
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
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS