In the ongoing investigation, Kaohsiung District Prosecutor Office has proactively pursued a case involving bribery in the signing of petitions, a violation of Article 87, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act. From the 3rd to the 5th of this month, our office has conducted multiple waves of searches, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau's Fujian Provincial Investigation Office, Kaohsiung City Investigation Office, and the Kaohsiung City Police Department Lingya precinct. Several defendants and relevant witnesses were summoned for questioning, and following the inquiries, prosecutors sought and were granted detention for three defendants suspected of significantly violating Article 87, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the mentioned law.

 Head Prosecutor Liu Chun-liang and Prosecutor Chen Li-hsiu of our office's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Unit recently discovered a case involving citizens allegedly violating Article 87, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, in connection with bribery in the signing of petitions. After questioning relevant defendants and witnesses and examining pertinent evidence, it was revealed that defendant Chen ○-ching instructed defendants Chen ○-hsu, Chen ○-hsin, and others to purchase signed petition documents from unspecified individuals at NT$500 each. Subsequently, the three defendants invited several individuals to assist in purchasing over a thousand signed petition documents for NT$500 each from unspecified individuals between the end of September and October this year. In the past few days, our prosecutors have continued to execute multiple waves of searches, seizing relevant evidence and bringing several defendants and witnesses in for questioning. Following further questioning and comprehensive analysis of the case evidence, prosecutors determined that the defendants Chen ○-hsu, Chen ○-ching, Chen ○-hsin, and others were significantly suspected of violating Article 87, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act. There were reasons and necessities for detention, and the court granted the detention yesterday and today, respectively. The remaining defendants and witnesses were released after questioning.

This case relies on the careful analysis of the evidence by our prosecutors, who have actively pursued leads without pause even during the weekend. Subsequent to continuous waves of searches and summoning for questioning, the defendants involved in the purchase of over a thousand signed petition documents were uncovered. The prosecutors will continue to actively investigate, rectify the source, and our office will persist in rigorously investigating any unlawful election cases to safeguard the fairness and integrity of this election and uphold the democratic values of Taiwan.