Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) said he would not seek re-election next year amid pressure over his ties to a fraud suspect.
In a statement on Sunday night, the legislator representing Yilan County apologized to his family and supporters for his association with Tseng Kuo-wei (曾國緯), the founder of peer-to-peer lending platform im.B, which is being investigated for allegedly defrauding customers.
Eleven Yilan County councilors of the DPP on Friday signed a letter asking the party to clarify Chen’s involvement in the case and his relationship to the principal suspects.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“Earlier, I explained that I have no link to any criminal fraud ring. I was not aware of the whole situation when I accepted the company’s financial support,” he said. “I shall defend myself from false accusations. Therefore to defend myself, and protect our party’s election planning, I have decided to drop out of the legislative race.”
Chen and DPP officials have called for a thorough investigation into the case.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) figures have also been linked to the im.B scandal, including Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安).
Photographs have circulated showing Chang with Focal Healthcare chairman Chen Cheng-hsiu (陳正修). Tseng had served as general manager at Focal Healthcare.
Chang yesterday said he could not remember at which event the photograph was taken, as he meets many people while campaigning, and it would be wrong to connect him to the case based on just a picture.
Chiang told Taipei City councilors that he did not know Chen Cheng-hsiu, saying that they should present evidence before accusing him of involvement in the company.
Founded in 2015 by Tseng, im.B, which is short for “I am bank,” enables users to borrow money from each other. The platform offered interest rates of 9 to 12 percent.
Investigators arrested Tseng earlier this month.
He conducted seminars across Taiwan, promising good returns for investors, prosecutors said, adding that fraudulent profits totaled about NT$2.5 billion (US$81.49 million).
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan, Chen Yun and Cheng Ming-hsiang
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
COMMUNITY SPIRIT: As authorities were busy with post-typhoon cleanups elsewhere, residents cleaned fallen leaves and cut small fallen trees blocking the hiking trails All hiking trails damaged by Typhoon Kong-rey have been repaired and has reopened for people who want a refreshing hike in Taipei during the Lunar New Year holiday, a city official said. The Taipei Basin is known for its easily accessible hiking trails. It has more than 130 trails combined into the 92km-long Taipei Grand Trail, which was divided into seven major routes when it was launched by the Taipei City Government in 2018. Last year, a part of the sixth route of the Grand Trail collapsed due to Typhoon Kong-rey, which hit Taiwan in October. The damaged section belongs to one
RSS