Legislator Ann Kao (高虹安) was listed as a suspect yesterday after former legislative assistants of the Hsinchu mayoral candidate for the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) accused her of making illegal payroll deductions and personal gains from public funds.
Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭), who is reportedly Kao’s boyfriend, was also listed as a suspect by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, which said it opened the case after completing a preliminary assessment.
Several whistleblowers, reportedly former legislative assistants at Kao’s office, presented material to investigators showing that she registered Lee as an office assistant, despite his position with the Yonglin Foundation which paid an annual salary of NT$6 million (US$192,567), prosecutors said.
Photo: CNA
The Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau passed the material and testimony on to prosecutors, the office said.
Kao and Lee are likely to face charges related to document forgery regarding alleged employee payroll deductions contravening the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), bureau officials said.
More serious charges might arise from the wage fraud allegations linked to Lee’s role in the legislative office, the bureau officials said, adding that Kao might have contravened Article 5 of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
The article stipulates a minimum seven-year term, and/or a fine not exceeding NT$60 million for “withdrawing or withholding public funds without authorization with an intent to profit, or unlawfully collecting taxes or floating government bonds.”
Legislative Yuan rules state that legislators are entitled to NT$500,000 per month to pay regular wages and overtime for up to eight office assistants, who generally earn NT$35,000 to NT$45,000 per month.
Kao’s campaign spokeswoman Hsu Chien-ching (徐千晴) said that “being listed as a suspect is normal procedure when a case is launched by prosecutors.”
“It does not mean they have been found guilty,” Hsu said. “Kao has already provided a lot of evidence to prove the office assistants were working and she submitted the documents to the authorities on her own initiative.”
Kao would respect the work of the prosecutors and would cooperate with the investigation, Hsu added.
“People should not make assumptions and mislead the public on this case to influence the election,” she said.
Material provided by whistleblowers alleged that the assistants had some of their wages illegally deducted, with the cash put into a coffer and spent by Kao on personal items, prosecutors said, adding that other material indicated that employees pay was deducted when they took sick leave.
There are allegations that Kao included in accounting documents people who did not work in her office, reported paying wages higher than what were actually provided and made false statements about overtime hours to obtain the maximum amount allowed each month from the Legislative Yuan, prosecutors said.
Kao has been linked to several controversies since she announced her candidacy.
She has been accused of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis and of collecting a corporate salary while on staff at a government-affiliated institute.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number
RSS