The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office this morning released six defendants suspected of forging recall petition signatures on bail ranging from NT$200,000 to NT$500,000, and restricted them from traveling abroad.
After prosecutors last month received reports of alleged signature forgery and fraud in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall efforts, they filed a case and directed the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau to investigate.
Prosecutors requested information on the petitioners from the Central Election Commission and Taipei Election Commission.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
After verifying that the petitions included signatures from voters who had passed away or who did not approve the use of their name, prosecutors began conducting searches and questioning those involved in the recall effort.
Prosecutors questioned six people yesterday as defendants in the case — Chang Ke-jin (張克晉), Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮), Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟), Lai Yi-jen (賴苡任), Man Chih-kang (滿志剛) and Chen Kuan-an (陳冠安) — who are leading efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party legislators Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) who represent districts in Taipei.
Liu, Lai, Man and Chen are members of the KMT Youth League and have been dubbed the "four knights of the recall Wu campaign."
Prosecutors also questioned five people as witnesses: Hsieh Li-hua (謝麗華) and her husband, Chan Chia-wen (詹嘉文), Liu’s husband Lin Jui (林叡) and Lee Hsiao-liang’s mother.
After questioning, prosecutors released Chang, Chan, Hsieh and her husband, and Lee Hsiao-liang’s mother, and changed Lin to a defendant.
This morning, prosecutors released Liu, Lai and Man on bail of NT$500,000, Lee Hsiao-liang and Lin on bail of NT$300,000, and Chen on bail of NT$200,000.
KMT supporters gathered outside the prosecutors’ office last night to show support for those being questioned, joined by KMT legislators Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀), Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯).
Police were dispatched to maintain order at the scene.
Additional reporting by CNA
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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