Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday denied a rumor that they had been threatened by gangsters over the arrest of Kaohsiung City Council vice speaker Tsai Sung-hsiung (
"Up to this minute, the rumor remains just a rumor because we have not been threatened at all. But we've also heard about it and are all geared up to face any form of challenge," said Chou Chang-chin (
"I must say again, we will not release Tsai or stop investigating him because of any threats," he said.
After an overnight interrogation, Kaohsiung Prosecutor Hsiao Yu-cheng (
The 57-year-old independent vice speaker was charged with bribery for helping council speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) buy votes for NT$5 million each from five PFP councilors.
Rumors began to circulate among Kaohsiung-based reporters on Thursday that local gangsters would attack prosecutors to avenge Tsai's detention.
Prosecutors suspect the rumor is based on Tsai's alleged connections with the local mafia.
He was a member of "Chi-hsien" (
He had been targeted by the KMT government and recognized as a gangster during the "Yi-ching Program" (
The "Yi-ching Program" was an anti-gangster campaign carried out under the martial law era. People who were recognized as gangsters could be arrested immediately without charge and jailed without trial.
Chou, himself a former prosecutor, headed the investigation into the late KMT Kaohsiung County Council speaker Wu Ho-sung's (
"I was threatened once, so I will know what to do if it happens again," he said. "But any form of threats will not change my faith, which is to keep the criminals away."
Wu was acquitted on the bribery charge but shot dead by gangster Huang Wen-chung (
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