A rice-bribe case is under investigation by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office, and a candidate for village chief is on bail in NT$200,000.
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- Last updated：2019-01-05
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A rice-bribe case is under investigation by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office, and a candidate for village chief is on bail in NT$200,000.
At the beginning of this September, the prosecutors, Li Menxi and Zhao Zhengzheng, of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office received information showing that a candidate for Village Chief in Fengshan District of Kaohsiung City was suspected of issuing rice as a bribe. They thus commanded the Investigation Department of the Kaohsiung City Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice to conduct further investigation, and, on September 11, summoned 13 suspects and witnesses, and seized 2 packets of 3 kg rice and 2 packets of flyer-toilet-paper. The defendant (that candidate) was notified on bail in NT$200,000 by the prosecutor.
Having been interrogated by prosecutor Zhao Zhengzheng and prosecutor Lin Hengcui through the night, the candidate was thought to have distributed, in a temple in Fengshan District, 200 packets of 3 kg rice to the inhabitants of the village for free, placed campaign strips and flag on the scene, and took the opportunity to distribute flyer-toilet-paper. It seemed to involve in bribery and in violation of Article 99, paragraph 1, of the Public Officers Election and Removal Act. The candidate was therefore notified on bail in NT$200,000 by the prosecutor. Some of the voters confessed receiving the rice and flyer-toilet-paper after the hearing and returned what they had received. The case will continue to be investigated in depth to clarify the source of the bribes and the circumstances of bribery.