Pingtung County prosecutors on Monday filed an appeal against the Taiwan High Court’s decision last month to acquit all 12 suspects in a vote-buying case involving Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chien Tung-ming (簡東明).
The case stemmed from the 2016 legislative election, which led to one of the largest judicial investigations into illegal payments during election campaigns that saw more than 200 people questioned and 158 indicted.
Pingtung prosecutors said they decided to file an appeal after reviewing the evidence and financial records of Chien and the local KMT office.
An investigation suggested that while campaigning for the mountain Aboriginal district legislator seat, Chien gave each local KMT official more than NT$100,000 (US$3,235 at current exchange rate) in exchange for a list of the names of party cadres, campaign workers, and town and village residents affiliated with the party.
Prosecutors cited testimony from witnesses and suspects, with one person quoted as saying: “We were told to disburse money to residents in the voting constituencies, and to instruct them to vote for Chien when they receive the money. Patry cadres were paid NT$3,000 each, while regular party members were given NT$1,500 each.”
During the trial, Chien, his campaign staff and KMT officials admitted to disbursing money to party workers and residents, but said it was not vote-buying, but rather payment or reimbursement for their work on the election campaign.
On April 3, the Taiwan High Court’s Kaohsiung Branch overturned an earlier verdict and acquitted Chien and 11 other defendants of all charges.
In the first ruling in June 2017, Chien was given a five-year and six-month prison sentence. It was reduced to four years in the second ruling in January last year.
Pingtung prosecutors said that the judges in the last trial had erred in assessing the financial records, as Chien and the KMT had provided proof of hiring people to work on the campaign and documents that they paid a total of NT$177,500 for labor insurance.
Assuming the campaign had paid NT$355 in labor insurance premium per person per month, it should have employed 200 people for the job.
However, prosecutors said they only found 84 people listed as having labor insurance coverage.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS