Legislator and Hsinchu mayor-elect Ann Kao (高虹安) and her boyfriend, Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭), were yesterday questioned by investigators, while a search was conducted at her legislative offices in Taipei and other locations, as part of a judicial probe into alleged wage fraud, illegal payroll deductions and embezzlement of public funds.
Five former and current staffers of the Taipei People’s Party (TPP) legislator were also questioned by Investigation Bureau officials in New Taipei City.
The investigation began last month after a whistle-blower, reportedly a former staffer, filed a complaint at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office against Kao, then running for the TPP in the Hsinchu mayoral election.
Photo: CNA
Staffers had to pay part of their wages into a “common fund,” which Kao used for personal expenses, while some of the money was also transferred to the TPP’s coffers, the whistle-blower said.
Investigators at about 9:30am searched Kao’s offices in the legislature’s Chunghsing Building and subpoenaed the office’s wage payment records.
Chen Huan-yu (陳奐宇), who heads Kao’s office, was also questioned, as well as former deputy office head Chen Yu-kai (陳昱愷), former office publicity and media liaison head Wang Yu-wen (王郁文), and two former assistants, Huang Hui-wen (黃惠玟) and Wu Ta-wei (吳達偉).
Kao and Lee were served summonses in Hsinchu City, from where they were taken to the Investigation Bureau branch office in New Taipei City.
Kao is to be sworn in as Hsinchu mayor on Dec. 25. She has been urged to step down as a legislator-at-large since she began her campaign, especially after her mayoral run began to be mired in controversy.
Political commentators have said she might seek to serve in the legislature until she assumes office as mayor, which would grant her continuous immunity.
It is unusual for politicians holding offices that grant them immunity to be faced with probes that involve searches at their premises.
Kao, Lee and her staffers might face charges under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例), prosecutors have said, adding that she might also face charges related to pressuring people to give false testimony and interfering with a judicial investigation.
Kao allegedly asked staffers to tell investigators that the deductions were voluntary.
Legislative Yuan Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia (林志嘉) and Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) confirmed that the search had been conducted after investigators filed a written request.
“We are a nation that upholds rule of law,” You said. “Even the judiciary must comply with the required procedures.”
The prosecutors provided “sufficient reason” for the search, he added.
As of press time last night, a decision on whether Kao and Lee would be detained was pending.
Mayors-elect are legally required to be sworn in within three months after the planned date for them to assume office.
If that is not possible, for example because they are in detention, a by-election would be held to fill their position.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
RSS