The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday searched the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Taipei city chapter and questioned staff members, including the director, in a broadening probe into allegedly forged signatures in recall campaigns, Chinese-language media reported.
Investigators reportedly questioned KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), chapter secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿), chapter secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文) and first district committee executive director Tseng Fan-chuan (曾繁川).
The prosecutors’ office in a statement last night said that police searched the offices and homes of four people, including a person identified as Huang Lu “X”-ju, and the office of an unnamed political party in connection to an ongoing fraud investigation.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
It has no bias and its line of inquiry is guided by evidence, it said, adding that the public should refrain from politicizing the work of prosecutors.
The investigation centers on allegations that recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), the party’s caucus chief executive, and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) used falsified signatures.
KMT supporters were protesting last night outside the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in Zhongzheng District (中正), a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed.
Photo: CNA
The action came two days after six people — Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮), Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟), Liu’s husband, Lin Jui (林叡), Lai Yi-jen (賴苡任), Man Chih-kang (滿志剛) and Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) — posted bail in the case.
Liu, Lai, Man and Chen are KMT Youth League members dubbed in the media as the “four knights” of the bid to recall Wu.
Liu, Lai and Man each posted bail of NT$500,000, Lee and Lin each posted bail of NT$300,000 and Chen posted bail of NT$200,000, the prosecutors’ office said on Tuesday.
Prosecutors launched probes into the recall campaigns after the Central Election Commission alerted law enforcement of irregularities in signatures gathered by the campaigns.
Organizers backed by the DPP have launched recall campaigns against 35 KMT lawmakers using petitions that allegedly included 160 counterfeit signatures and 12 signatures of dead voters, the commission said.
KMT-backed recall drives against 17 DPP lawmakers had petitions that allegedly included 42 counterfeit signatures and 1,784 signatures of deceased voters, it said.
In related news, the New Taipei City District Court on Wednesday night said that six people were released on bail of NT$30,000 to NT$200,000 and barred from leaving the country in an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud in recall campaigns targeting DPP legislators Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城).
Earlier that day, New Taipei City prosecutors directed a search of 30 residences, offices and KMT branches after receiving evidence of alleged irregularities in recall petitions, prosecutors said.
Tainan prosecutors are also investigating similar allegations in the campaign to recall DPP legislators Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) and Wang Ting-yu (王定宇).
On March 20, investigators searched the KMT Tainan chapter, questioning five people.
Two suspects, surnamed Chuang (莊) and Liu (劉), have been detained incommunicado, while the other three were released.
Additional reporting by Chen Yi-shao, Shih Hsiao-kuang and Jonathan Chin
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