Prosecutors today indicted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sra Kacaw on suspicion of accepting nearly NT$7.11 million (US$226,260) in bribes over about four years from nine business operators.
The long-term arrangement allowed the business owners to be nominally listed as special assistants in Sra Kacaw’s office, promoting their companies and allowing them to exert pressure on administrative agencies, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Prosecutors said they are seeking a prison sentence of at least 10 years.
Photo: Taipei Times
His actions are tantamount to putting the powers of a legislator “on sale,” effectively acting as a paid consultant and misusing public authority for private ends, prosecutors said.
The lawmaker and the executive director of his office, Chang Teng-lung (張騰龍), are suspected to have contravened the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) for accepting bribes, as well as the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), prosecutors said.
All illicit gains are to be confiscated, while eight business operators who paid bribes were granted deferred prosecution on the condition that they pay between NT$700,000 and NT$2 million to the public treasury and attend legal education courses, they said.
The ninth business operator has since died, they added.
Beginning in December 2020, Sra Kacaw became acquainted with the nine business operators after an introduction from Chang and others, the indictment said.
Sra Kacaw is from the Amis indigenous group.
Under the pretext of sponsoring his participation in indigenous harvest festival events, the nine operators regularly paid bribes ranging from NT$10,000 to NT$100,000 in cash or using bank transfers to accounts under Chang’s name, the indictment said.
Moreover, the operators used the title of “special assistant” to Sra Kacaw’s office to promote their businesses and receive ongoing assistance from Sra Kacaw and Chang when their companies needed to coordinate with agencies, it said.
Chang was detained in connection to a separate corruption case on July 14, 2023, spanning from his previous tenure as chief office assistant to the lawmaker.
Four of the operators still deemed it necessary to continue the ongoing relationship with Sra Kacaw’s office and arranged for one operator to collect the funds and deliver them to Sra Kacaw at the Legislative Yuan, the indictment said.
Sra Kacaw has served continuously since being elected in the Legislative Yuan’s eighth term and has been re-elected four times, prosecutors said.
As an elected official, he should have acted for the welfare of his constituents and public interest, rather than for personal gain or a small group of private interests, they said.
Sra Kacaw’s conduct has severely undermined the fairness and integrity of public officials and caused serious damage to the foundations of Taiwan’s democratic, constitutional system, they added.
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