The Kaohsiung District Court on Monday sentenced former Kaohsiung City Council speaker Zeng Li-yan (曾麗燕) to 12 years in prison for pocketing public funds intended to pay assistant salaries.
In the first ruling on the case, which can be appealed, the court found Zeng guilty of corruption and forgery crimes, and deprived her of civil rights for six years.
Prosecutors brought charges against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) councilor and her 12 accomplices in January last year for allegedly embezzling NT$13.3 million (US$413,351) in public funds since Zeng became a city councilor in 2010.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
They were accused of submitting fraudulent lists of assistants and underreporting salaries, taking advantage of a privilege allowing city councilors NT$2.88 million per year to hire assistants.
The system has historically been prone to abuse, with councilors registering family members or friends as assistants to receive government funds.
Zeng was not responding to media requests for comment following the ruling on Monday.
Zeng’s sister, Zeng Li-hong (曾麗鴻), was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, and the councilor’s assistant, Cao Hsueh-chen (曹雪禎), was sentenced to two years and two months.
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