The Taiwan High Court on Tuesday rejected a second appeal by prosecutors to detain former Kuomintang (KMT) Central Standing Committee member Hsiao Ching-tien (???), who is suspected of vote-buying in Taiwan's local elections in November 2022.
The high court upheld the order given by the Taiwan Shilin District Court on Jan. 7 to release Hsiao on NT$15 million (US$489,000) bail, ruling that Hsaio was neither a flight risk nor capable of destroying, forging or colluding with others to tamper with evidence.
The Shilin District Court first rejected a request by prosecutors to detain Hsiao on Jan. 3, when it ordered Hsiao released on NT$8 million bail.
Prosecutors appealed the ruling, resulting in the court's decision on Jan. 7 to increase the bail amount, but prosecutors again appealed to detain Hsiao and hold him incommunicado, a request the high court rejected.
The 69-year-old Hsiao voluntarily reported to the prosecutors office on Jan. 3 after a warrant for his arrest was issued on Dec. 29 because he did not respond to a summons related to allegations of vote-buying on behalf of KMT Taipei City Council candidate Lin Hsing-er (???).
Prosecutors and investigators involved in the case said they received a tip-off alleging that Hsiao and one of Lin's local campaign officials surnamed Tseng (?) made payments to ward chief candidates in the Shilin/Beitou constituency where Lin was running.
They allegedly paid NT$6,000 to NT$10,000 to the ward chief candidates to gain their support and promote Lin's candidacy, according to local media reports.
Lin won the race and her victory was officially confirmed by the Central Election Commission on Dec. 2, but prosecutors filed suit on Dec. 30 to annul Lin's election amid the vote-buying allegations.
Candidates are considered to have engaged in vote-buying if they partook in, abetted or condoned vote-buying committed on their behalf by friends, relatives or campaign office staff, regardless of whether the bribes originated from the candidates themselves, prosecutors said, citing the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel