Three brothers, all borough chiefs in Greater Kaohsiung, were indicted on Friday by prosecutors on suspicion of receiving bribes in exchange for support for former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Lin-chun’s (江玲君) legislative campaign earlier this year.
Brothers Wang Chun-kun (王村坤), Wang Chiu-tsung (王秋宗) and Wang Ting-hui (王丁輝) — all KMT members — serve as borough chiefs in Greater Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District (鳳山).
Prosecutors said a businessman named Su Ming-cheng (蘇明成), a long-time KMT supporter, on Jan. 5 allegedly brought NT$200,000 in cash to Wang Chun-kun’s residence using a car provided by Chiang’s campaign offices. Su then asked Wang Chun-kun to get in the car, where the latter was handed the money, prosecutors alleged.
Prosecutors also said that Wang Chun-kun took NT$50,000 for himself and then distributed NT$50,000 to each of his two brothers. Wang Chun-kun was instructed by Su to give a daughter-in-law — who is also a borough chief and a KMT member — NT$50,000, but embezzled the money instead, prosecutors said.
Investigators on Jan. 12 raided the trio’s houses and seized the NT$200,000 in cash, according to the prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the trio denied the money was a bribe in exchange for supporting Chiang. The three said the money was to be used for campaign expenditure for the purchase of rice boxes and bottled drinks during Chiang’s legislative campaign, adding that this type of expenditure was perfectly legal.
Prosecutors charged Su and the trio with violating the Civil Servants’ Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and asked the Kaohsiung District Court to sentence Su to four-and-a-half years in prison, Wang Chun-kun to three-and-a-half years and Wang Chiu-tsung and Wang Ting-hui to eight months each.
Chiang lost the Jan. 14 legislative election to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺). Prosecutors added that no evidence showed Chiang had any connection with the case.
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