Taichung's County Council speaker and vice speaker were detained early yesterday morning after nearly 10 hours of questioning in connection with several criminal charges, including murder.
At 3am yesterday morning, the Taichung District Court approved a prosecutors' request to detain county speaker Yen Ching-piao (
The approval will allow prosecutors a maximum of 60 days for questioning.
Both Yen and Chang are to be questioned in connection with alleged corruption, while Yen is also to be questioned over allegations of attempted murder and banditry.
In a rapid response to the detention of Yen and Chang, family members, lawmakers and local representatives came out in full force yesterday, claiming the charges brought against the two were, at best, politically motivated.
Sobbing as she spoke, Yen's wife, Hou Li-juan (侯麗娟), said, "the judicial system is unfair. He is just a victim of political persecution."
Yen's wife was flanked by rows of friends, family members and local representatives.
Among those present was lawmaker and close friend, Tseng Chen-nung (
Tseng said he was willing to stake his political career on Yen's innocence.
"If Yen is found guilty of killing any individual, is guilty of the crime of banditry or of bribery, I will step down from my post as a lawmaker," Tseng said.
"This is a bona fide case of political persecution."
Some speculate that because Yen and Chang are both influential members of Taichung County's two main political factions, the black faction (
For years, under the KMT, the two factions were powerful tools for mobilizing voters and reportedly for funneling election funds and conducting vote buying.
However, after last year's presidential elections and with the formation of the PFP, the power of the two factions has gradually weakened as members of the factions have been divided between the KMT and PFP, political analysts say.
During last year's presidential elections, Yen was kicked out of the KMT after he publicly supported then independent candidate James Soong (
Yesterday, Soong, distanced himself from Yen, saying, politicians "should be careful in what they say," when commenting on the case.
From the moment he was detained, Yen has voiced his innocence.
Television footage yesterday morning showed an exhausted Yen chewing a mouth full of betel nut as he was ushered off to the Taichung County detention center.
Yen, who looks more like a professional wrestler and goes by the nickname of "stone pumpkin," shouted "I haven't been judged yet and already I am guilty," as he was being escorted away by authorities.
Lee Ching-yi (李慶義), head of the Central Taiwan Special Investigative Force, denied accusations that the prosecutors' arrest was politically motivated.
"Prosecutors have been very meticulous and thorough in their approach to this case. All of the documents and evidence related to this case have been collected over a period of one to two years," Lee said.
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