Lin Hao-fong (
Lin was convicted of accepting bribes related to inspecting quake victims' qualifications for receiving compensation and aid.
Taichung County was one of the worst-hit areas during the 1999, Sept. 21 earthquake. The 7.3 Richter scale temblor claimed 2,297 lives.
Lin was a leading official in Taichung County's Fengku village (
Such a position in the village office gave him the authority to decide who among all quake victims were qualified to receive compensatory funds from the government.
Lin, according to the written verdict, had requested bribes from six households of quake victims. He told them that they had not met the required qualifications to obtain aid and requested bribes up to NT$50,000 from each for the approvals.
A public representative of the township had disclosed the case to the police after being informed of the circumstances by a quake victim.
Lin fled after a magistrate ordered him to report to the police, following an official interview to investigate the accusation.
Lin then held a press conference claiming that he had been wrongly accused by the quake victim. He claimed that he was targeted because he refused to provide approval for the victim even when pressured by the public representative.
The court decided to punish Lin heavily because it took an especially grave view of Lin's abuse of his position at a time when the whole nation was in a state of grief.
The conviction was decided in accordance with criminal law and emergency regulations applied for tackling matters related to the earthquake.
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