Two days before Taiwan heads to the polls, there were 3,287 cases of election obstruction under investigation, including 117 involving outside Chinese interference, Supreme Prosecutors’ Office data showed on Friday.
As of Thursday, 3,548 people were under investigation in 3,287 cases, resulting in 46 detentions and 93 indictments of 76 people, the office said.
The amount of money seized from election betting, bribery and other illegal proceeds totaled more than NT$45.11 million (US$1.45 million), setting a new record, it said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Election betting was the most common form of interference with 1,284 people under investigation in 1,430 cases, it said, adding that unlike traditional gambling, use of cryptocurrencies with obscure betting pools has become more common.
There were 353 cases of attempting to obstruct an election through false information with 335 people under investigation, including cases involving foreign online influence operations, the office said.
Many types of foreign interference have emerged this election cycle, including 287 people suspected of contravening the Anti-infiltration Act (反滲透法) in 117 cases, it said.
The first person charged under the act this election cycle was China Pan-Blue Association member Chen Chih-cheng (鄭志成) on suspicion of recruiting people for sponsored tours to China in an indictment handed down on Dec. 25.
There was also the first suspected case of a candidate accepting payment via cryptocurrency from China, with a court approving the detention of former Taiwan People’s Party Taoyuan chapter spokeswoman Ma Chih-wei (馬治薇) for allegedly receiving thousands of US dollars in tether and cash.
Additional reporting by CNA
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