Kaohsiung District Court yesterday convicted the first of 40 people embroiled in a vote-buying scandal during the election of the Kaohsiung City Council speaker Chu An-hsiung (朱安雄) last year.
Councilor Chang Wen-hsiu (
The other three convicted yesterday were all city councilors.
Lin Shou-shan (
While the ruling prevents all five from running for election, it does not affect their positions in the city council and Legislative Yuan. They may appeal up to the level of High Court.
Kaohsiung District Court Judge Lin Shui-cheng (
Except for Lin Ching-hsing, who was overseas, the other four councilors said they would decide whether to appeal when they receive notification of the ruling.
Lin Ching-hsing and his former wife, who were both DPP members at the time, were taped by Kaohsiung City Government cameras accepting NT$5 million from Chu. They were both expelled by the DPP.
According to the ruling, since these two denied the charges and behaved badly in court, their sentences were not suspended. The NT$5 million in bribe money was confiscated.
Lin Shou-shan and Yang were both former PFP members who were also expelled by the party after the scandal was exposed.
According to the ruling, Lin Shou-shan received NT$2 million and Yang NT$5 million for their votes. The money was confiscated in both cases.
Lin Kun-shan was a DPP member at the time of the election and received a bribe of NT$5 million. He returned the money, minus NT$200,000 he had spent, to Chu when the scandal was exposed. Lin was expelled by the DPP later and was fined the amount he had spent.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
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