Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun (陳怡君) was indicted today for embezzling public funds used to pay for assistants.
The investigation concluded this morning, after prosecutors found that Chen and her assistant Chang Hui-lin (張惠霖) had claimed about NT$3.84 million (US$128,096) in fraudulent assistant fees.
The two used public funds for personal expenses such as paying rent and buying stocks, the Shilin District Prosecutors' Office said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The case has been transferred to Shilin District Court for trial, it added.
The court said it has received the case, which would be processed in due time, although a trial date has not yet been set.
Chen has served as a city councilor since Dec. 25, 2018, with Chang serving as her assistant and head of the city council research office since 2020, the indictment said.
The two allegedly forged employment contracts under the names of three of their relatives — Hung Yu-han (洪于涵), Ho Hsi (賀璽) and Chang Chia-jung (張家蓉) — to fraudulently claim assistant salaries, Lunar New Year bonuses and year-end bonuses, it said.
Chang Hui-lin allegedly transferred the funds from the three relatives’ accounts to that of an unsuspecting friend, surnamed Chu (朱), who was then instructed to issue checks to Chang Chia-jung, it said.
Chang Chia-jung then deposited the checks into bank accounts, used to pay Chen and Chang Hui-lin's rent and buy stocks, it added.
Chen, Chang Hui-lin and the three relatives have been indicted for embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), and falsification of official documents under Article 214 of the Criminal Code, prosecutors said.
Chen and Chang Hui-lin have also been indicted for forgery under Article 217 of the Criminal Code and for money laundering under the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), they added.
All criminal proceeds have been confiscated, they said, adding that Chen and Chang Hui-lin confessed to the allegations and voluntarily returned all illicit gains during the course of the investigation.
Under the Anti-Corruption Act, confession and return of proceeds can allow for a reduced sentence, which may be further reduced if the defendant also confesses in court, they said.
The three relatives also confessed that they did not serve as assistants and were not entitled to the assistant salaries, prosecutors said.
Moreover, as they possess clean criminal records, exhibited good behavior and did not financially benefit from the fraud, prosecutors said they may recommend lenient or suspended sentences should they confess in court.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS