Former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) has been indicted on corruption charges related to allegedly taking a NT$5 million (US$156,359) bribe to facilitate an industrial development project, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office said today.
Prosecutors have recommended a 12-year sentence for Cheng, given that he has denied committing the crime, which would contravene the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), and the substantial amount of the alleged bribe.
Photo: Yu Jui-jen, Taipei Times
The Taoyuan District Court decided last month to detain Cheng, who is being investigated for alleged corruption while serving as Taoyuan mayor from December 2014 to December 2022, and hold him incommunicado.
The court made the ruling on July 11 after two of its previous rulings allowing him to go free on bail were overturned by a higher court.
Cheng allegedly took the NT$5 million bribe to assist in rezoning a plot of land in Guishan District (龜山) from farmland to land designated for industrial development.
Ten other people were also indicted in the case today.
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