Prosecutors indict 40 in Kaohsiung

Forty people, including 34 councilors and a legislator, were indicted yesterday on charges related to the bribery scandal in the December election of the Kaohsiung City Council speaker and vice speaker.

"We hope this is the last such prosecution in Taiwan's history. The culture of vote-buying has been devastating to ... Taiwan's democracy," Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chou Chang-chin (周章欽) said in a press conference yesterday.

Prosecutors are seeking prison terms for the 34 councilors, including Council Speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) and his deputy Tsai Sung-hsiung (蔡松雄), of between six and 30 months. Prosecutors want Chu sentenced to 30 months and Tsai to 28 months.

Both Chu and Tsai declined to comment on the indictments.

On Dec. 26, Chu was elected speaker after gaining 25 of 44 votes.

According to the indictment released by the prosecutors' office yesterday, independent councilor Tsai Ching-yuan (蔡慶源) had prepared to run for the speakership by paying five councilors NT$5 million each for their votes through PFP Councilor Lee Jung-chung (李榮宗).

On Dec. 24 last year, after determining that he was destined to fail in the race, Tsai met with Chu and persuaded Chu to cover his expenses in exchange for backing Chu's bid, the indictment said.

Meanwhile, independent Tsai Sung-hsiung agreed to give up his bid for the speakership and sold five votes, for which he had paid NT$5 million each, to Chu.

Of the 34 councilors, 10 are DPP members, 10 belong to the KMT, six to the PFP, and eight are independents.

The other defendants include DPP Legislator Lin Chin-hsing (林進興), former Kaohsiung Civil Affairs Bureau director Wang Wen-cheng (王文正) and the director of Chu's campaign office, Hsien Chi-yu (賢繼禹).

Some of the councilors, however, insisted yesterday the judges would find them innocent.

Lee yesterday denied his involvement, saying he had never met with Chu prior to the election.

TSU Legislator Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴), who is from Kaohsiung and has been following the scandal, said that the prosecution was a result of four months of work by more than 200 prosecutors and investigators.

"This could be the most wonderful battle in Taiwan's judicial history," Su said.

Some of those involved, including a legislator and four city councilors, were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence, according to Su.

TSU Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉) said yesterday the Ministry of the Interior should consider Kaohsiung residents' call for an immediate halt to the council's assembly, which began sitting on April 1.

Lin also urged the government to replace the councilors involved in the scandal as soon as possible.

The Kaohsiung City Election Commission said yesterday that a by-election will be carried out within three months of convictions being finalized. If, however, councilors are more than two years into their four-year terms by the time their cases are dealt with, a by-election would not be held.