The Taitung County District Court yesterday sentenced former Dawu Township (大武) mayor Chao Hung-han (趙宏翰) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on corruption charges, handing him a three-year, seven-month prison term.
Chao was mayor from 2015 to last year, during which time he received kickbacks from contractors totaling about NT$2.01 million (US$64,306) in breach of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), the court said in its ruling.
After Taitung prosecutors and the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption launched an investigation in August 2017, law enforcement units raided 12 locations and questioned 20 people.
Prosecutors listed Chao and Chen Wen-cheng (陳文政), head of the township office’s construction section, and five others as suspects in the case.
Chen was also convicted on corruption charges, although the court did not announce a sentence.
It was the first ruling on the case and can still be appealed.
Investigations found that contractors were headed by business associates of Chao surnamed Hsu (許), Ruan (阮) and Pai (白).
Chao helped them secure public projects through bid rigging, and by borrowing business permits and licenses from separate companies, investigators said.
Elsewhere, New Taipei City Councilor Kao Min-hui (高敏慧) of the Democratic Progressive Party was detained with restricted communications as a judicial probe was under way over alleged theft of government funds meant to pay office assistants.
New Taipei City prosecutors conducted searches on Friday and detained 11 people for questioning. While Kao and a female assistant surnamed Huang (黃) remained in detention, three other suspects were released after posting bail of NT$50,000 to NT$100,000.
Kao, who has held office for six consecutive terms, was accused of forging documents and wage slips, and using bank accounts of family members to pocket funds earmarked to pay office assistant salaries.
New Taipei City Government regulations stipulate a monthly maximum of NT$260,000 to pay office assistants for councilors, with each office usually having three to eight earning at most about NT$80,000 per month.
Kao on Friday told reporters that she had been framed and that the case was based on unsubstantiated accusations by political opponents.
“It is because I announced that I would enter the race and was seeking an executive position on the Shulin District Farmers’ Association,” she said. “I am innocent of the charges, but my political opponents last month began circulating fabricated information about subsidies for office assistants.”
“We are confident that my assistant and I will be acquitted of the charges,” she said.
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A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had