The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the Taiwan High Court’s ruling against Hualien County Councilor Hsu Shu-yin (許淑銀), sentencing her to eight-and-a-half years in prison for corruption and taking bribes from contractors to secure disaster relief projects from the government, which means she will lose her seat.
Hsu, who is a Truku Aborigine from Sioulin Township (秀林), was a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member before running as an independent in the nine-in-one elections in November last year.
As yesterday’s ruling is final, she will be stripped of her council seat in accordance with the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
The Hualien County Government said a by-election would be held within three months to fill the seat.
Hsu was found guilty of receiving NT$2.15 million (US$68,640 at the current exchange rate) in bribes from contractors in 2012 when she was Sioulin mayor following Typhoon Saola, which caused landslides and flooding that devastated several Aboriginal communities in Hualien County.
She served as mayor from 2006 to 2014.
According to yesterday’s verdict, Hsu targeted NT$10 million of central government funds earmarked for post-typhoon disaster relief and reconstruction projects in Sioulin and neighboring areas.
“Hsu demanded bribes and kickbacks amounting to 15 to 20 percent of the funds for disaster relief and reconstruction. She used her mayoral authority to help two contractors secure the projects,” the ruling said.
An investigation found that although the companies were neither certified nor approved to undertake the projects, Hsu helped them borrow the needed certification and operating licenses from qualified firms and approved them, the ruling said.
The Supreme Court verdict was handed down after Hsu appealed her conviction in March last year by the Hualien Branch of the Taiwan High Court and the eight year, six month sentence that the court imposed.
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