Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) and five subordinates were released on bail yesterday morning, as prosecutors pursue the arrest of Lin’s service center director for suspected corruption.
Investigators from the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office searched Lin’s legislative office in Taipei and her constituency service center in Tainan on Wednesday.
They questioned 19 people, including Lin, for the suspected embezzlement of publicly funded salaries of legislative assistants.
Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times
Lin was released on bail of NT$1 million (US$312,832) for suspected contraventions of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) and document forgery. The lawmaker is not allowed to leave Taiwan.
Five other people were also released on bail. Identified only by their surnames, Liu (劉) was freed on bail of NT$100,000, Chang (張) NT$70,000, Su (蘇) NT$50,000, and Huang (黃) and Wu (吳) NT$30,000 each.
Prosecutors have also applied to detain and hold incommunicado the director of Lin’s service center in Tainan, surnamed Huang (黃), as they believe Huang might attempt to collude with other suspects, destroy evidence or evade justice.
Of the 19 people questioned, 15 were considered suspects and four were witnesses, prosecutors said.
Most of those questioned were Lin’s assistants or workers in the lawmaker’s constituency service center, they said.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Lin wrote: “No matter what the reason for being investigated is — whether it is a misunderstanding or a leak from someone with good intentions — as a representative of the Legislative Yuan, I will set a good example and cooperate with the judicial investigation to shed light on the case.”
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