Hualien Prosecutor Lee Tsu-chun (
The Ministry of Justice and Supreme Prosecutors' Office both said Lee's indictment is illegal as he failed to gain the approval of his superiors.
On July 27 last year You, then the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) candidate for Hualien County commissioner, said during a campaign activity that he would give a monthly NT$5,000 service allowance to the county's Aboriginal chiefs to help them with community affairs if he won the by-election.
The statement was reported to the Hualien District Prosecutors Office by an anonymous person who claimed You's promise constituted bribery, prompting prosecutors to open an investigation.
"The evidence and witnesses' statements all show that the entire case was conducted by You, so I decided to indict him alone," Lee said.
When criticized for purposely announcing the "indictment" before the legislative election, Lee said, "I am only doing my job as a prosecutor."
Lee's indictment, however, is not legal because it was not approved by Hualien Prosecutor-General Kuo Wen-tung (
"We discussed this case the other day and I told him that he may have to refine, rewrite or drop his charges against the defendants in the case because the indictment is not persuasive," Kuo said. "I was surprised when I realized that Lee announced his own indictment anyway."
In response to Lee's indictment, State Public Prosecutor-General Wu Ying-chao (
"To indict somebody, a prosecutor's indictment must first go through his superior officers before being handed down at a district court. Obviously, Lee's indictment is not legal," Wu said.
During his investigation, Lee summoned local Aboriginal chiefs, vote-captains and DPP heavyweights, including President Chen Shui-bian (
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