Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators.
After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kao I-shu (高一書) said in a statement yesterday.
Taipei prosecutors said that the KMT members questioned could face charges of contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
Photo: CNA
DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) said that the complaints had uncovered thousands of instances of signatures of the deceased, and accused the KMT of “systematic copying from old party membership lists” to create the false impression of “substantial support to oust DPP legislators.”
The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned, thereby breaching the law on protecting personal information.
Taipei prosecutors said they coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau in the search for evidence and served a summons to question Chang Ke-jin (張克晉), an arts teacher and senior KMT member who headed up the drive to oust recall DPP legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶).
The other five people summoned for questioning were Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮), Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟), Lai Yi-jen (賴苡任), Man Chih-kang (滿志剛) and Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安).
Liu’s husband and Lee’s mother, who has said her son was forced by the KMT to shoulder the legal responsibility by heading up the petition drive, were questioned as witnesses.
The questioning was still ongoing at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office at press time last night, while the KMT said in a statement that it had hired a team of defense lawyers to provide assistance and advice to Chang and the five KMT Youth League members.
Separately, Central Election Commission officials yesterday said that 41 out of 61 recall petitions checked as of Friday last week contained forgeries and signatures of the deceased.
The commission is to forward 39 of the 41 recall petitions to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and request a judicial investigation, while more work needed to be done on the remaining two petitions.
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