Legislative aide in hot water over salary claim

A legislative aide has been accused of registering an inflated salary in order to inflate her pension.

However, the aide's boss, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Cho-shui (林濁水), said the accusation was simply due to a "misunderstanding," even as he acknowledged that her reported salary was, in fact, inflated.

The Chinese-language United Evening News reported yesterday that the assistant, identified only as Chen (陳), had reported to the legislature that her monthly salary was NT$190,000, about what a Cabinet minister makes.

The newspaper said that Chen had applied for retirement, and as the basis of her retirement fund, the inflated salary for eight-and-a-half years of employment would equal a lump-sum payout of NT$3.2 million (US$96,700).

The report quoted an anonymous source from the legislature as saying that the inflated salary report was to allow Chen to receive extra money when she retired.

"It's unlikely that a legislative assistant could earn NT$190,000 a month, as the total budget appropriated as a subsidy for each legislator for legislative assistants is NT$300,000 per month," the newspaper said.

"This is a misunderstanding," Lin said, adding that his aide's salary was NT$50,000 per month.

"I am required to donate NT$100,000 [of the NT$190,000] to the party, and NT$40,000 is for the office's overtime pay," he said.

Chen said that she would withdraw her initial pension application and submit a new one.