Prosecutors this morning searched the office of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Pingtung County chapter over allegations of falsified information on recall petitions using deceased and non-indigenous people’s signatures.
The Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office and the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau Pingtung County Field Office searched the office at 9am, seizing computers, recall petition documents and other evidence.
They reportedly plan to bring chapter secretary-general Hsiao Jung-ming (蕭榮明) and two other employees in for questioning.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Saidhai Tahovecahe, who represents the Highland Aborigine constituency, said that recall petitions targeting her contained 1,521 invalid signatures, of which as many as 202 of the people were deceased and 140 belonged to non-indigenous people.
Reports have said that in recent days, Pingtung investigators questioned signatories who allegedly did not know that their personal information had been used.
The lawmaker on April 17 filed a complaint at the prosecutors’ office against Chang Fang-shuo (張芳碩), an assistant of indigenous KMT Legislator Sasuyu Ruljuwan and the lead petitioner of the recall case.
She accused Chang of forging documents and contravening the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選罷法).
Legislator Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), who also serves as chair of the party’s Pingtung County chapter, said he is in Taipei, but had been notified of the situation and is currently looking into it.
Additional reporting by CNA
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