Twenty of the 195 defendants charged with document forgery in recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have been detained, while more than 80 of the defendants have been identified as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) workers, local media reported.
Ahead of a wave of recall votes set to begin next month, prosecutors have searched 16 KMT regional chapters and interrogated at least 195 defendants nationwide for their alleged involvement in recall document forgery.
The 16 chapters include the KMT’s Taipei chapter, the First Electoral District chapter in Taipei, the New Taipei City chapter and its Banciao, Sanchong, Tucheng, Shulin and Sansia district chapters, the Yilan County chapter, the Taichung chapter and its Daya and Cingshuei district branches, the Chiayi County chapter, the Tainan chapter, the Pingtung County chapter and the Keelung chapter, which was searched twice. They did not search the residences of suspects or other related locations.
Photo: CNA
The 195 defendants include 28 people in Taipei, 34 in New Taipei City, 16 in Keelung, 19 in Yilan County, 35 in Taichung, nine in Chiayi County, 48 in Tainan and three each in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County.
Excluding recall campaign leaders and civil servants, at least 83 of the defendants were identified as KMT workers, although the actual number is believed to be significantly higher.
A total of 20 defendants have been detained due to concerns over collusion and the severity of their alleged offenses.
In Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, and Yilan, those detained include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Keelung Renai District Office director Chang Chin-fa (張金發) and former KMT Yilan County chapter secretary-general Yu Ling-chieh (俞凌傑).
In Taichung, prosecutors conducted a search on May 2 and arrested KMT Taichung chapter secretary-general Chen Chien-feng (陳劍鋒) and executive director Wu Kang-lung (伍康龍) at the court. Both were later detained and held incommunicado.
Another search was carried out at the KMT Chiayi County chapter on Thursday, resulting in the approved detention of chapter secretary-general Yang Fu-cheng (楊富程) and Ho Po-lun (何博倫), director of KMT Legislator Alicia Wang’s (王育敏) Chiayi County office.
KMT Tainan chapter deputy director Chuang Chan-kuei (莊占魁) and executive director Liu Chin-hui (劉金輝) were detained without visitation rights following a search on March 20. On May 8, the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chuang and 10 others, while another 37 defendants who pleaded guilty were granted deferred prosecution.
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