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DPP legislator and 20 others indicted

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) and another 20 individuals were indicted yesterday by prosecutors for their involvement in an alleged loan scandal at the Sunny Bank.

The Shilin District Prosecutors' Office asked the Shilin District Court to sentence Hsueh, her husband Sunny Bank chairman Chen Shen-hung (陳勝宏), Hsueh Ling's brother Hsueh Tsung-hsien (薛宗賢) and Sunny Bank official Ho Ming-lung (何明龍) to nine years in jail, and to fine the four NT$10 million (US$300,000) each.

They are charged with violations of the Banking Act (銀行法) and forgery.

Chen is also a member of the DPP's Central Standing Committee.

Prosecutors suspect Sunny Bank made a number of illegal loans, worth at least NT$460 million.

Prosecutors suspect Hsueh Tsung-hsien bought a building from the Chinese-language Chunghwa Daily newspaper in Taipei for approximately NT$400 million. He is then alleged to have forged the contract, raising the sale price to NT$500 million.

Prosecutors believe Hsueh Tsung-hsien then took the forged contract to Sunny Bank and requested a loan against the deal.

Prosecutors suspect Hsueh Ling and her husband knew the contract was forged and that they conspired in authorizing the loan.

Prosecutors allege that the bank also granted Hsueh Tsung-hsien several other loans and that hun-dreds of millions of dollars of the bank's money had been embezzled by the Hsueh family.

The DPP said that it would submit the case to the party's internal Commission against Corruption to determine whether she had broken integrity rules.

DPP rules state that indicted party members will have their membership suspended if an indictment is related to corruption.

The couple rejected the indictment, saying they suspected the prosecutor had "ulterior motives" in bringing the charge against them. They didn't elaborate.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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