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Ex-Taipei official guilty of bribery
By Jason Pan / Staff reporter
From left, Democratic Progressive Party city councilor candidate Wang Wei-chung and People First Party city councilor candidate Wang Hsiao-yu demonstrate against Lai Su-ju’s candidacy outside the Taipei District Court yesterday.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei city councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如) was yesterday found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Taipei District Court. Lai’s lawyer said Lai would appeal.
Lai was indicted in July last year on suspicion of seeking a NT$15 million (US$492,160) kickback from a consortium led by Taipei Gateway International Development Co (太極雙星) in return for ensuring that it won the tender to develop the proposed Taipei Twin Towers project near the Taipei Railway Station in October 2012 with a NT$70 billion bid.
The ruling found Lai guilty of accepting NT$15 million in bribes and of using her influence as a Taipei City councilor to keep the project on track.
Aside from Lai, three people were found guilty: Peng Chien-ming (彭建銘), who disbursed the bribe money, was sentenced to four months in prison; contractor Cheng Hung-dao (程宏道) was given eight months; and Chia Er-ching (賈二慶), an adviser, received six months. The sentences can be commuted to fines and the ruling can be appealed.
Former Taipei City Government Department of Finance commissioner Chiu Da-chan (邱大展), indicted for breach of trust during the bidding process for the project, was found not guilty.
While the verdict and 10-year prison term are widely regarded as a strong judicial response, Lai can still stand for election for city councilor under election regulations.
source: Taipei Times
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