A New Power Party (NPP) employee was caught in possession of LSD, a class-two drug, Taoyuan City Councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Green Party Taiwan said yesterday, accusing the party of setting a bad example for young people.
Police on March 27 found a large amount of LSD at the NPP employee’s house in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正), Wang said on Facebook.
LSD is a class-two drug that can cause hallucinations and seizures, and in large doses can be deadly, he said, adding that the NPP denied the incident and even ordered employees to help hide the information from the public.
Wang said he supports the NPP’s objective of “decriminalizing drugs,” but the party has set a negative example for young people.
“As an idol of the younger generation, NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) should not tolerate possession of drugs,” he said, adding that the incident has tarnished the image of the party.
Huang should fire the employee immediately and investigate whether other employees were involved in the case, Wang said, adding that he should also apologize to the public and clarify the party’s stance on fighting drug abuse.
In a report published yesterday, the Chinese-language Mirror Media magazine said that the employee is a close friend of NPP Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) and has served as his personal assistant at the party’s Taipei chapter.
Lim yesterday said the drugs were found at the office of another group and the employee has been tested negative for drugs.
The employee has been placed on administrative leave while the office investigates the matter, he said, adding that the party cannot answer questions related to the case.
“The party has always maintained zero tolerance of drugs and never advocated the decriminalization of drugs,” he said, adding that the party is confused about Wang’s continued attempts to slander and spread rumors about the matter.
The employee was not his personal assistant and they never played in bands, Lim said.
Police later revealed the arrested employee was a 36-year-old man surnamed Lin (林).
Lin is suspected of having purchased 4kg of LSD and more than 20kg of magic mushrooms on the Internet, police said, adding that a sniffer dog detected the drugs in a parcel addressed to his house that was mailed to Taiwan from abroad.
Police on March 27 raided the address on Taipei’s Zhongxiao W Road, which is Lin’s house, and arrested him for possession of drugs, the police said.
Following the police statement, NPP headquarters said in a statement that the party would fire any employee or member charged with drug-related crimes.
The party leadership has requested a report on the matter from its Taipei chapter, the statement said.
Additional reporting by Wang Kuan-ren
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