The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun (陳怡君) on charges of accepting bribes and misusing public funds.
Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and her assistant Chang Hui-lin (張惠霖) allegedly accepted bribes from Pinchia Construction Co between August 2023 and February, a statement from the prosecutors’ office said.
Pinchia’s representative Hu Wei-liang (胡偉良) and president Kao Ming-yi (高明義) were also indicted for offering bribes in exchange for expediting the issuance of construction permits for a site in Taipei’s Datong District (大同), the statement said.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Prosecutors said Hu and Kao hired Chang as a company consultant, paying her monthly fees totaling more than NT$700,000 (US$23,329).
In return, Chen and Chang allegedly pressured city government departments involved in permitting and construction reviews to speed up administrative procedures, prosecutors said.
They also used the city councilor’s office as a front to request assistance with tasks such as transplanting street trees, they said.
Kao told investigators that Chang was hired because civil servants tend to be more responsive when a city councilor was involved in monitoring construction progress, prosecutors said, adding that Chang reported to receiving payments from Pinchia and assisting the company with constituent services, as well as relaying urban renewal demands to Kao.
Prosecutors also indicted Chen and Chang for allegedly claiming more than NT$3.84 million in fraudulent assistant salaries. Both have been held incommunicado since February, as the Shilin District Court cited concerns over potential collusion and tampering with evidence.
Three other people — relatives of Chen and Chang — were also indicted for allegedly lending their names to the salary scheme, prosecutors said.
All three told investigators they had never worked as councilor assistants, prosecutors added.
Chen and Chang cooperated with the investigation and have voluntarily returned the full amount of the misappropriated funds, prosecutors said.
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