Prosecutors yesterday continued their probe into Kaohsiung City councilors who allegedly gained reimbursements from government funds by submitting falsified lists of councilor assistants.
Kaohsiung district prosecutors on Thursday led hundreds of investigators, police officials and honor guards in a mass raid of city councilors’ offices and homes in the investigation.
Chung Chung-hsiao (鍾忠孝), spokesman for the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, said prosecutors had questioned more than 70 people whose names have been listed as councilors’ assistants and would continue to round up people for questioning.
As many as 40 to 50 current and former councilors from both the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are implicated in the case, including Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Chuang Chi-wang (莊啟旺) of the KMT.
“The city councilors whose offices and homes were searched are from both pan-green and pan-blue camps. Prosecutors did not target any particular party,” Chung said, adding that after the prosecutors finish questioning the “assistants,” they will evaluate the evidence and consider whether to question the city councilors.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, sources from the prosecutors’ office said that 22 prosecutors who were assigned to question people listed as assistants found instances in which “assistants” were not even aware they had been hired by the councilors. Some did not even know who the councilors were or resided in northern Taiwan, while some names led to hospitalized patients who had suffered strokes. Prosecutors said they suspect that a criminal ring may have provided the “assistants” personal information to the councilors.
Chuang said yesterday the councilors enjoyed the freedom to handle public funds set aside for their assistants.
Chuang said that on Jan 26, 2000, the fund — about NT$240,000 (US$7,300) per councilor per month — was included in their budget to cover expenses incurred while gathering information.
The fund was later renamed the “salary to councilors’ assistants,” but councilors had the power to decide how to spend the money, Chuang said.
A document by the Ministry of Finance dated Oct 18, 2001, said that city or county councils should give the money to councilors and have councilors report the money as part of their income if councilors did not submit a name list of their assistants to council administrators, he said.
“I believe the fund should be interpreted as a cash subsidy to councilors. It is the right of councilors to determine how they want to use the money,” he said. “I hereby voice my objection [to the prosecutors’ allegations].”
Chuang called the prosecutors’ allegations a “historical glitch” and compared it to the special allowance fund given to government chiefs and the “state affairs fund” enjoyed by the president.
Chuang said prosecutors should probe city and county councilors and legislators across the nation instead of targeting Kaohsiung City councilors alone.
He also threatened to stage a protest against the prosecutors’ investigation or sue the prosecutors.
DPP Councilor Lin Ying-jung (林瑩蓉) also lashed out at the prosecutors for questioning her and searching her office.
Lin protested her innocence, saying that she had submitted related documentation to the prosecutors.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY PAO CHIEN-HSIN AND HO CHENG-HSU
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