Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday was indicted on corruption charges after she was accused of making fraudulent payroll deductions and misusing public funds.
After an eight-month investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office formally charged Kao with breaching the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and falsifying documents from Feb. 27 to Dec. 31, 2020, when she served as a legislator-at-large.
Kao has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Photo: CNA
However, prosecutors decided not to indict Kao in another case in which she was accused of breach of trust when working for the government-sponsored Institute for Information Industry due to insufficient evidence.
Kao was previously accused of taking advantage of research-and-development work to apply for patents under her name instead of her employer.
Kao was named as a suspect in the corruption case in December last year after prosecutors ordered a raid of her offices and summoned her for questioning.
Kao was suspected of falsely registering her boyfriend, Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭), as an office assistant and using public funds to pay his salary, while also taking money from legislative aides’ salaries that she paid into a “provident fund” for her personal expenses.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Kao had misused more than NT$460,000 (US$14,409) of public funds through the fraudulent payroll deductions.
Kao’s legislative office directors Chen Huan-yu (陳奐宇) and Huang Hui-wen (黃惠玟), as well as aides Wang Yu-wen (王郁文) and Chen Yi-kai (陳昱愷), were charged with corruption for following Kao’s instructions regarding the payroll deductions.
However, Lee was not indicted because prosecutors determined that he had actually carried out duties as an aide to Kao.
Prosecutors said Kao received a salary of more than NT$190,000 as a legislator-at-large and an additional allowance of NT$70,000 per month, and had more than NT$12 million in savings, but still colluded with aides to access public money for her personal spending.
They added that her attitude was poor throughout the investigation.
Prosecutors requested that the court impose an appropriate jail sentence on her and deprive her of her civil rights.
Kao responded by saying prosecutors had failed to take all factors into account and that the indictment was reckless.
Kao added that the indictment was politically motivated, and vowed to defend herself and her aides in court.
She said she had confidence that the judicial system would not be influenced by political factors.
The Hsinchu mayor said she had not ruled out the possibility of filing a lawsuit against those who had made “false accusations” about her.
Citing the Local Government Act (地方制度法), an official from Hsinchu County’s Civil Affairs Department told the Central News Agency that local government heads would be suspended from duty if they are found guilty of corruption by the court of first instance, and their deputy would become acting mayor.
If the court of second instance reverses the decision made by the lower court and they are found not guilty, they can resume their post, but if they are found guilty, they would be dismissed from office and a by-election would be held within three months.
However, if the dismissal is ordered at a time when the public servant has less than two years of their term remaining, a by-election is not needed and the Executive Yuan can instead name a replacement to see out the rest of the term, the official said.
Therefore, despite the indictment, Kao is, for now, able to remain in her job, they said.
Kao was elected Hsinchu mayor on Nov. 26 last year and she took office on Dec. 25.
Speaking with reporters, Chen Chih-han (陳智菡), a spokesperson in TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) office, said the TPP supports Kao and believes the mayor would be able to provide more evidence in court to clear her name.
Democratic Progressive Party Hsinchu City Councilors said that Kao, who has been a controversial figure since the mayoral election campaign last year, owes the public an apology and should step down immediately.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
RSS