Taichung mayor-elect Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is facing criticism over her appointment of Lo Hsien-fa (羅仙法) to head the city’s Bureau of Finance, as the university professor has been accused of domestic violence during divorce proceedings.
Lo is a professor in the Department of Finance at Feng Chia University in Taichung.
In 2003, Lo’s then-wife, surnamed Tseng (曾), filed for divorce, accusing him of assault and saying he has bipolar disorder.
Photo courtesy of Taichung mayor-elect Lu Shiow-yen’s team
Tseng, who was an instructor at the university, described Lo as having violent tendencies and emotional problems, court documents showed.
When they had a disagreement, he would slap, punch and strangle her, even ramming her head into a wall, Tseng said, according to the documents.
Tseng said that when their child would not clean up, Lo would use the sound of an electric drill to scare the child, the documents showed.
Lo also told the child to jump from the second story, Tseng said, according to the documents.
He told the child: “Everyone has wings. When a child jumps from the second story, their wings open up,” the documents showed.
Tseng submitted the document as grounds for divorce, but the judge said the couple had already signed a divorce agreement, so ruled against Tseng.
Taichung City Councilor Tseng Chao-jung (曾朝榮) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who is running for Taichung City Council speaker, told reporters that Lo is not suitable to head the Finance Bureau and Lu should reconsider the appointment.
Lee Tien-sheng (李天生), DPP caucus convener for the city council, said it was a serious case of domestic violence and the appointment of Lo was inappropriate.
Lu’s appointments have been rife with controversy, Lee said.
However, Wu Huang-sheng (吳皇昇), spokesman for the incoming city government, defended the appointment.
“Our new city government team has faith in Lo’s ability and professionalism. We need him to oversee Taichung’s finances and to establish good discipline in fiscal management,” Wu said.
“Regarding his personal affairs, everyone has a private life. We do not know the actual situation and cannot make a judgement. The city government team will not use an official’s private life to negate their public service. This is a principle we stand on,” he said.
Lu has announced that Lee Shan-chih (李善植) is to head the Taichung Legal Affairs Bureau, Kao Ssu-hsiang (高?翔) the Economic Development Bureau, Yang Cheng-sheng (楊振昇) the Education Bureau and Yen Nai-lun (顏迺倫) the Secretarial Office.
Yen is the youngest at 26.
The five people announced as department heads live in Taichung and are new to government roles, Lu said, adding that they fulfilled her promise of having young people in her Cabinet, in addition to Wu, who is 34.
The appointees are among the top experts in their fields and have good reputations, Lu said.
They respect the city government’s structure and will work to preserve the old, while creating new paths, Lu said, adding that they have an emotional attachment to Taichung, so they know what the city needs.
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