The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office has asked that two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials be detained incommunicado over allegations of document forgery and misuse of personal information in relation to a recall campaign.
The Chiayi District Court is to hear the case this afternoon.
Prosecutors yesterday morning searched four locations, including the KMT's Chiayi County headquarters and residences of party officials, seizing documentation, computers and mobile phones.
Photo: Taipei Times
Nine people were questioned. Alongside the two who face the possibility of being detained — Yang Fu-cheng (楊富程), secretary-general of the KMT's Chiayi County chapter, and Ho Po-lun (何博倫), director of KMT Legislator Alicia Wang’s (王育敏) Chiayi County office — seven were released on bail.
The search followed an investigation into public reports of forged or impersonated signatures on petitions in the first phase of a campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷).
Wang has not been questioned, although Ho often represents her locally.
“It would be impossible [to be brought in for questioning], I have never committed any document forgery,” Wang said at the legislature in Taipei today.
The judiciary should prioritize major issues such as fraud and drug offenses instead of this “misallocation” of time and resources, she added.
The KMT county headquarters has appointed defense lawyers for today’s hearing.
Prosecutors have accused Yang and Ho of forgery in contravention of the Criminal Code and misuse of personal data in a non-governmental capacity, contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
The seven who posted bail are subject to travel restrictions.
Kuo Shu-chiang (國恕強), the branch’s deputy director, and two staff members were released on bail of NT$100,000 each.
Two other staff members posted bail of NT$300,000, while the remaining two, friends or relatives of staff members, posted NT$30,000 each.
The prosecutors’ office said it would act with neutrality and objectivity, regardless of party affiliation or personal identity, to uphold electoral integrity, promote clean governance and protect democratic values.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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