Tainan prosecutors ask court to detain mayor over graft

Tainan prosecutors yesterday requested that Tainan City Mayor George Chang (張燦鍙) be detained for his alleged involvement in a governmental land-requisitioning scam.

Prosecutors claim Chang ordered the requisition of certain plots of land in order to illegally benefit the city council speaker, Huang Yu-wen (黃郁文). At press time the Tainan District Court had not made its ruling yet.

The prosecutors believe that Chang conspired with Huang over the land requisitions and that Chang is still hiding some related materials from prosecutors. However, Chang has not been found to have made illegal profits in the case, according to a source.

Chang was summoned to the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office for questioning yesterday morning. Accompanied by supporters and a lawyer as he entered the prosecutors' office, the DPP city mayor told the media that the land requisitions had been conducted in accordance with the law and with administrative procedure.

"There are no secrets, I will explain every detail to the prosecutors and I hope the case is resolved soon," Chang said.

After questioning Chang late into the evening, prosecutors charged him with corruption. Prosecutor Chang Pei-jane (張佩珍), a spokeswoman for the investigation force, said prosecutors requested Chang's detention because he might otherwise escape, conspire with others or destroy evidence.

Chang's counsel, lawyer Lee Sheng-hsiung (李勝雄) objected to the prosecutors' move.

"Chang is the city mayor, how would he escape?" Lee said. He said Chang has been cooperating with the prosecutors and that as the case has been under investigation for months there is nothing in the case for Chang to conceal.

Five people have been detained regarding the land requisition scam allegations since last month, including the speaker, Huang, his wife Chang Su-chen (張素貞) and other city government officials.

Prosecutors suspect that, in collaboration with the Tainan City Government, the speaker bought land that was to be requisitioned by the government for road construction and then manipulated the city council to pass the requisition budgets so he could receive compensation from the government.

The prosecutors said Huang has made some NT$160 million in profits through such illegal means. Just before being questioned yesterday, Chang filed an appeal against a ruling by on April 9 which banned him from leaving the country.

Lee criticized the ban as a breach of human rights because the prosecutors made the ruling before questioning Chang.

Chang said that he had in the past always responded punctually to prosecutors' summonses and the ban against him was unacceptable. Chang was indicted last August for allegedly covering up the corrupt practices of his subordinates. In a scandal concerning the repair and landscaping of a canal, the prosecutors recommended that Chang be sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Despite his troubles, the former chairman of the World United Formosans for Independence (台獨聯盟) did not give up hope of running for a second term as mayor.