A court has approved Kaohsiung prosecutors’ request that two people working for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Dai-hua (林岱樺) be detained, as a probe into two cases allegedly involving her continues.
The request was made on Friday, after prosecutors raided Lin’s two offices and the staffers’ residences, and questioned five on suspicion of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例).
The people included the directors of Lin’s Daliao (大寮) and Linyuan (林園) district offices in Kaohsiung, surnamed Chou (周) and Lin (林) respectively, as well as three other staffers.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
The prosecutors’ move came after they interrogated Lin Dai-hua on Wednesday. She appeared solemn following the inquiry session, but was allowed to go home.
Lin, who announced that she intends to run in the DPP’s primary election for the Kaohsiung mayoral race and has been a frontrunner in the primary, is under investigation on suspicion of filing fraudulent claims for assistants’ salaries.
On Feb. 21, she was released on NT$1 million (US$30,576) bail by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office.
She has been barred from leaving the country or traveling by boat and is required to reside at her current residence or at a court-designated location.
Four other people allegedly complicit in the case are being detained and held incommunicado.
They include Lin’s younger brother and his wife, an accountant surnamed Huang (黃), and a leader of a local temple identified as Shih Huang-chih (釋煌智).
Prosecutors would decide whether to seek an extension of their detention, as the current term is set to expire soon.
Lin is also being investigated for abuse of power over involvement in activities that allegedly constitute a conflict of interest related to her role as a public servant.
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