A Lienchiang County councilor was detained yesterday over alleged vote-buying ahead of the Lienchiang County Council speakership election today.
Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗), chief prosecutor at the Lienchiang Prosecutors’ Office in Matsu, said Hsieh Cheng-chun (謝承春), an independent, was suspected of involvement in vote-buying. Lienchiang judges requested his detention yesterday.
Hsieh, a re-elected independent councilor, will be barred from exercising his functions as councilor for the duration of the investigation and won’t be allow to vote in today’s election.
Lin said other councilors were being investigated.
Lienchiang prosecutors led agents from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau on Monday to search 10 locations in Matsu and found NT$5 million (US$156,000) in cash at a construction company owned by Chang Ching-chiu (張金秋). The Lienchiang District Court called for Chang to be detained on Tuesday.
Lin said prosecutors suspected Chang was asked by a county councilor to use the money to bribe another councilor, but the latter did not receive the money.
There are nine councilors in the county council. A councilor can be elected as speaker if he or she garners five votes. Local media said four of the nine were interested in the speaker position.
Meanwhile, gangsters may have been involved in the Yunlin County Council and Chiayi City speakership elections. Yunlin County commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of the Democratic Progressive Party said councilors in her county have complained of being threatened by gangsters ahead of the speakership election, and she had to order police officers to protect all 43 councilors.
Two of them have 24 hour protection, she said.
Chiayi City Council has 24 councilors.
Police said some councilors had complained of being threatened by gangsters; 19 had police escorts until today’s election.
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