The Kaohsiung District Courts approved a Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office request to detain Kaohsiung City Council DPP caucus whip Jan Yung-lung (詹永龍) on the charge of bribery yesterday.
Jan was being held while his wife was released on NT$200,000 bail.
Newly-elected Speaker Chu An-hsiung (
Meanwhile, PFP Kaohsiung City Councilor Wang Ling-jiao (王齡嬌) was transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office for further interrogation around 7pm yesterday after a nearly 15-hour interview at the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau (MJIB) Kaohsiung City branch office.
Prosecutors said they found a NT$4 million deposit in Wang's bank account that Wang was unable to account for.
Chu was still being interviewed by prosecutors and special agents from the MJIB as of press time yesterday.
Prosecutors raided 40 different locations on Friday night to search for evidence of vote-buying during the Kaohsiung City Council speakership election. Investigators, including prosecutors and the MJIB's special agents, discovered NT$2 million cash, suspected to be bribe money from Chu, at Jan's residence on Friday night and brought him back to the MJIB's Kaohsiung City Branch Office for interrogation.
Jan was transferred to the prosecutors' office for further questioning around 4am yesterday but was arrested by prosecutors and charged with bribery because he could not explain where the money came from. To detain him, prosecutors filed the detention application around 2pm yesterday.
Also on Friday night, another group of investigators discovered NT$3.5 million cash, also suspected to be bribe money, at Chu's residence while Chu was not present. Prosecutors then summoned Chu and banned him for traveling outside the country.
Chu reported to the MJIB's Kaohsiung City branch office approximately 1pm yesterday to be interviewed by investigators. The interview was still in process as of press time yesterday.
Before entering the interrogation room, Chu kept saying that the NT$3.5 million discovered at his place was definitely not bribe money but he could not explain where the money came from when asked by reporters.
At 6pm yesterday, Chu's wife, Wu Te-mei (
"Our investigation shows that the NT$2 million at Jan's place and the NT$3.5 million at Chu's place were withdrawn from the same bank account," said Chou Chang-chin (周章欽), the spokesman of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office.
Also on Friday night, a third team of investigators, led by Chief Prosecutor Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗), raided Kaohsiung City Government's Bureau of Civil Affairs Director Wang Wen-cheng's (王文正) residence where they discovered a heavy locked safe.
Wang is suspected helping Chu distribute bribe money. Personal belongings inside the safe were thought to be part of Chu's bribe packages.
"We need him [Wang] to clarify many things and open his safe for us as well. We are now considering to apply for an arrest warrant if he still doesn't show up with 24 hours. Also, we will ask a locksmith to help us open the safe if necessary," Lin said.
Investigators have interviewed 31 Kaohsiung City councilors in the case. Eight of them are DPP members, 11 of them are KMT members, four of them are PFP members and the rest of them are all independent councilors.
Chu, a 58-year-old independent city councilor, just won his fifth term during the election on Dec. 7 and the speakership with 25 votes from a total amount of 44 city councilors on Wednesday.Also See Stories:
Parties ready to crack the whip
Prosecutors set sights on three movers and shakers
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft