After Ku Hsin-ming (古鋅酩), the key suspect in the Kaohsiung vote buying scandal, turned himself in late on Wednesday, Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday said they were now looking for a man surnamed Yang, whom Ku claimed he had worked with to buy votes in the Kaohsiung mayoral election last weekend.
After turning himself in, Ku told prosecutors that he was a vote captain for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayor candidate Huang Chun-ying (
He said he paid NT$500 each to 22 voters and asked them to support Huang during the election. He also said that he had rented two tour buses for transportation of the 22 voters and taken them to Huang's campaign activities before election day.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
"Based on Ku's statement, we can say that parts of it are true but some parts might not be," said Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (
Ku later told prosecutors that another man -- surnamed Yang -- was also involved.
"We are trying to track down another suspect: 43-year-old Yang, who may have worked with Ku on the bribery," Chung said.
Chung said prosecutors had interrogated all 22 voters who accepted money from Ku, adding that their statements supported Ku's confession.
The 22 voters have returned the bribe money but have been listed as defendants in the case, Chung said.
Prosecutors revealed that Ku earns less than NT$30,000 a month.
They said it was unlikely Ku had orchestrated the entire scheme and suspected that he was taking the blame to cover for other individuals who may have been involved.
At press time yesterday, the prosecutors were done questioning Ku and had decided to detain him.
A profile of Ku showed that he had received a 16-year sentence for a murder committed in 1989 but that he was released during an amnesty in 1994.
Ku was out of touch for days after prosecutors over the weekend started questioning individuals whom they suspected were involved in the case.
Chung said that Ku told prosecutors he had disappeared because "all of a sudden he did not know what to do."
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged prosecutors to run a polygraph on Ku and to ask him why he had agreed to give an exclusive interview to a certain media outlet.
"The prosecutors must look deeply into the case and find out who he contacted during the past four days. They must also find out why he chose to give an exclusive interview," Ma said.
Before turning himself in, Ku contacted the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times), which published the interview yesterday.
In it, Ku said that the money given to the 22 voters came from his own pocket because he admired Huang and hoped he would be elected as Kaohsiung mayor.
"Is there really such an enthusiastic person on earth?" Ma asked.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS