The Taiwan High Court yesterday rejected Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai’s (黃景泰) appeal against the Keelung District Court’s decision to detain him in relation to a corruption investigation.
Huang is running for Keelung mayor as an independent after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) withdrew his nomination as its candidate on July 9, citing the probe.
The Keelung Prosecutors’ Office said Huang is suspected of taking bribes from construction companies and relaying several cash bribes of between NT$200,000 and NT$500,000 (US$6,690 and US$16,700) per councilor on behalf of a firm that was contracted to expand a road in the city.
The office also alleged that Huang embezzled more than NT$10 million from the council using false invoices to pay for personal purchases such as designer bags and insurance policies. Prosecutors tried unsuccessfully three times in June to detain Huang while investigating his alleged involvement in an influence peddling case.
The Keelung District Court on Friday approved a request for Huang to be detained without access to outside communication.
Keelung prosecutors earlier that day renewed their effort to detain Huang, following a hearing the night before.
The hearing took place after prosecutors searched his residence and mayoral election campaign office on Thursday.
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