Tainan prosecutors yesterday evening recommended that Tainan City Council Speaker Huang Yu-wen (黃郁文) be detained for involvement in an alleged governmental land requisitioning scam.
As of press time last night the court had still not made its ruling.
Huang had been missing since Monday morning when prosecutors and investigators searched his home. After two days on the run he presented himself to the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office yesterday morning. The prosecutors then started questioning him.
Huang's wife and another five people, including three city government officials, have already been detained following a court ruling on Tuesday.
Prosecutors suspect that the speaker bought land that was to be requisitioned by the Tainan City Government and manipulated the city council to pass the requisition budgets so he could receive compensation from the government.
The prosecutors said they believe that Huang has made about NT$160 million in profits through such illegal means.
Chang Pei-jane (張佩珍), investigation force spokesperson, said yesterday that an important point of the prosecutors' interrogation of Huang was whether he had unlawfully exercised influence on city government officials in the land requisition.
Chang said, however, that Huang denied the charge during questioning.
The requisitioned land was to be used for road construction. The compensation to be paid amounted to some NT$258 million, according to prosecutors.
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