A former mayor and his son, who is a New Taipei City councilor, and others on Tuesday were found guilty on corruption charges related to a land development project.
Chiu Tsui-yi (邱垂益), a former mayor of what was Taipei County’s Jhonghe City at the time, and his son, Chiu Feng-yao (邱烽堯), both members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), made illicit gains of NT$82.22 million (US$2.57 million), the New Taipei District Court said in its ruling.
Chiu Tsui-yi was handed a 10-year sentence, while Chiu Feng-yao was given a three-year, six-month sentence, the court said, adding that both were deprived of their civil rights and prohibited from running for public office for four years and three years respectively.
Photo: Ho Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Chiu Tsui-yi yesterday said that the public tender procedure for the land development project conformed to the law and there was no wrongdoing involved.
He said he would appeal the verdict.
The court also convicted three other defendants: Meilien Construction Co (美聯建設) chairman Huang Yue-sheng (黃越勝), who received a three-year sentence; former Jhonghe City council speaker Lu Li-wan (呂禮旺), who received a 30-month sentence; and former Jhonghe City council deputy speaker Ma Chao-ling (馬兆玲), who received a five-year, six-month sentence.
The father and son set up Meilien Construction with help from Lu and Ma, investigators said.
Starting in 2007, the firm began acquiring plots of land next to Anle Market — a city-run operation — to develop commercial and residential buildings, they said.
After completing the investigation in 2022, prosecutors charged the defendants with contraventions of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), including intent to profit illegally and withholding public funds or property for financial gain in breach of official duties.
They were also charged with seeking illegal gains from a function under their direct control or supervision, a provision of the Criminal Code.
In 2007, Chiu Tsui-yi won the mayoral election in what is now Jhonghe District (中和) in New Taipei City.
He secretly worked with Huang, using the authority of his office to help acquire the land at lower than market value, investigators said.
Chiu Tsui-yi also used his office to direct law-enforcement units to force vendors at the market to relocate, removing resistance to the land development project by local businesses, investigators said.
The two became joint owners of Meilien Construction, investigators said.
Records showed that Chiu Tsui-yi had a 25 percent stake in the company, while Lu and Ma each had 6.25 percent stakes.
Chiu Feng-yao was made deputy chairman of the construction company by his father, investigators said.
The younger Chiu was elected as a New Taipei City councilor in 2010 and has held the position for four terms.
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