Authorities are conducting a massive probe into reports of vote buying in Hsinchu County, in which prosecutors expect to question about 420 people, while two candidates in the Jhudong Township (竹東) mayoral race posted bail.
Prosecutors yesterday said that enough witnesses have been questioned and evidence gathered to file charges under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
The two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates in the Jhudong Township mayoral race, Lo Chi-hsiang (羅吉祥) and Wu Sheng-sung (吳勝松), were questioned and released this week after posting bail of NT$70,000, they said, adding that Lo and Wu were the only candidates.
Due to numerous reports of alleged violations and suspected illegal activity, the Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office formed a taskforce led by Prosecutor Chang Jui-ling (張瑞玲).
Allegations against Lo included partnering with borough wardens and local officials in a cash-for-vote scheme. Raids targeting Lo’s staff members were conducted earlier this month.
Investigators found that borough wardens had been paid NT$30,000 each to consolidate support for Lo, with NT$500 to NT$1,000 allegedly being disbursed to residents to secure their vote, Chang said.
“When investigating Lo, we received testimony from people that Wu, Lo’s rival, and his staff were allegedly using the same tactics of organizing a network to distribute cash to residents,” Chang said.
A raid was conducted on Friday at Wu’s campaign offices, with the cash, bank books, mobile phones and files seized, he said, adding that this lead to 168 people being summoned for questioning.
Prosecutors plan to question about 420 people in the ongoing investigation, Chang said.
In Changhua County, a man surnamed Shih (施) was on Saturday detained on suspicion of spending about NT$300,000 to buy votes for his father, who is running for county councilor.
More than 100 people have been questioned, with some allegedly receiving NT$500 for their votes, while local officials allegedly received NT$5,000 to help distribute money, prosecutors said.
In Pingtung County, prosecutors said three candidates were investigated, with residents allegedly having received NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 for their votes.
After questioning on Friday, one candidate running for village chief in Shihzih Township (獅子) and one candidate running for township councilor were detained pending further investigation, while another candidate for councilor was released after posting bail of NT$200,000, prosecutors said.
Also this past week, prosecutors in Tainan said they have investigated seven cases in which residents allegedly received gifts of rice, tea or dried meat products in suspected vote-buying schemes.
Six suspects have been detained and 265 people have been questioned, they said.
Taiwan yesterday expelled four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled restricted waters off Lienchiang County (Matsu) shortly after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army announced the start of its “Joint Sword-2024B” drills around Taiwan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a statement that it had detected two China Coast Guard ships west of Nangan Island (南竿) and another two north of Dongyin Island (東引) at 8am yesterday. After Chinese ships sailed into restricted waters off Matsu shortly afterward, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch deployed four patrol vessels to shadow and approach the vessels, it said. The incidents pushed up to 44 the number
Renovations on the B3 concourse of Taipei Main Station are to begin on Nov. 1, with travelers advised to use entrances near the Taiwan Railway or high-speed rail platforms or information counter to access the MRT’s Red Line. Construction is to be completed before the end of next year, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said last week. To reduce the impact on travelers, the NT$95 million (US$2.95 million) project is to be completed in four stages, it said. In the first stage, the hall leading to the Blue Line near the art exhibition area is to be closed from Nov. 1 to the end
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
The government has issued a deportation order for a Spanish fugitive, ordering him to leave the country within 10 days, as he is wanted by European authorities for allegedly operating a car rental scam. National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials yesterday said Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 48, had been notified that he must leave Taiwan, as he was wanted for committing serious crimes. The Spaniard has been indicted by Italian prosecutors for allegedly leading a 30 million euros (US$32.74 million) car rental scam and setting up a fraudulent company in Trento, Italy. The deportation order is based on Article 18 of
RSS