175 charged with election-related offenses
By Joy Chang, The China Post
November 28, 2014, 12:00 am TWN
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) holds up a sign to say that an association of Taiwanese businesspeople who support the Kuomintang (KMT) in Guangdong attempted to bribe its members. (CNA)
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A spokesperson of the Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) yesterday said that 175 suspects involved in crimes surrounding the 9-in-1 Elections will soon appear in court.
The spokesperson said that as of yesterday noon, there are 4,550 cases with 11,117 suspects who had allegedly committed crimes related to the elections, including 7,816 suspects involved in bribery and 289 suspects involved in violent assaults.
According to the spokesperson, out of the 4,550 cases and 11,117 suspects, 175 suspects in 63 cases will be brought before a judge. Of these 63 cases, the largest group is the 22 cases concerning village chief elections, with 33 defendants being brought up on charges. The highest number of defendants, 64, is found involved with five cases concerning the township mayor elections.
Prosecutors have arrested 80 suspects, detained 93, granted 217 suspects bail and banned 15 suspects from traveling. As of press time, there are 52 election gambling cases, 318 cases concerning attempts to interfere with a candidate's campaign and 582 phantom people cases.
Suspect Arrested for Gambling on Taipei Mayoral Election
An underground operation gambling on the Taipei City mayoral election was busted by police yesterday in New Taipei City, leading to the arrest of a suspect, surnamed Yu (余).
As election day was approaching, Yu's online gambling business started to receive bets placed on the candidates in addition to those on various sporting events. A spokesperson from the Taipei City Police Department said that since the race between the Taipei City mayoral candidates is so close, there is a rise in gambling activities.
The department's General Commander Lee Wen-chang (李文章) said that the police force in Taipei City is dedicated to cracking down on gambling operations and preventing the gambling from influencing the outcome of the election.
DPP Spokesman Accuses KMT Association of Bribery
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) yesterday said that an association of Taiwanese businessmen who support the Kuomintang (KMT) in Guangdong allegedly attempted to bribe its members by offering an all-expenses-paid trip.
During a press conference, Huang said that a Taiwanese businessman reported that the association allegedly bribed its members at the Royal Palace Hotel in mainland China on Sunday by offering them complimentary meals and an all-expenses-paid trip to nearby tourist attractions. Huang said that prosecutors should look into the case.
In response to the accusation, KMT spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said that the KMT did not hold the event in question. Chen added that the KMT believes that all campaign activities must be in line with the law.
Nantou Candidate Accuses Man of Distributing Libel
Nantou magistrate candidate Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) accused former Shinyi Township Representative Council (信義鄉代表會) Chairman Liu Ming-tse (劉茗喆) of distributing poison-pen letters and asked police to seize the flyers distributed by Liu yesterday.
Liu replied that the flyers are not poison-pen letters since the libellous slogans are attributed to Liu's name and he can provide evidence supporting this in court. “Sleeping with married women; without morals” is one of the maligning slogans.
