Vote-buying link to MRT fund probed

Investigators are examining possible links between alleged vote-buying by newly elected Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) and companies contracted to build the city's rapid transit system.

"Based on the evidence we have collected, one of the things we will be investigating is whether money for the rapid transit project is related to the case," said Chou Chang-chin (周章欽), spokesman of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office. "Especially as we have received reports from residents that the money for the vote-buying is related to the Kaohsiung rapid transit project."

Asked to elaborate, Chou said he was not at liberty to do so.

Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC), which is responsible for contacting out work on the project, immediately denied any connections with the vote-buying allegations.

Chou said most of the money allegedly used for vote-buying is from accounts of Chu's An Feng Group (安峰集團), adding "We are trying to figure out the financial transfers between An Feng and construction companies of the rapid transit project."

The KRTC said in a press release yesterday that all of the contracts for the project had been assigned by Sept. 16, which means that bids for the project were unlikely to have been related to vote-buying.

The KRTC also said that it and 19 contractors had spent about NT$6 billion on the project but had received only NT$4.5 billion from the government, suggesting that "these companies really have no extra funds" for vote-buying.

Meanwhile, TSU Legislator Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴), a former lawyer from Kaohsiung, told reporters who visited him in his office, "The money is definitely from one of the construction companies involved in the Kaohsiung rapid transit project."

"It won't take the public too much time to figure this out," he said.

He said that the company had received NT$700 million in construction funds from the Kaohsiung City Government last month, and it used part of these funds to support Chu's vote-buying.

Su declined to name which contractor it was, saying, "Only a couple of the companies received NT$700 million last month."

Contractors for the NT$170 billion project include four Japanese companies.

Su further said that Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was aware of the connection between the construction company and Chu's alleged vote-buying.

Su said that Hsieh should "do something," especially regarding the alleged involvement of Wang Wen-cheng (王文正), director of Kaohsiung City Government's Civil Affairs Bureau.

Hsieh proclaimed again his innocence in the DPP's Central Disciplinary Committee meeting on Sunday.