New Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Prosecutors sought Wednesday to detain six people allegedly involved in using fraudulent signatures on recall petition documents supporting a Kuomintang (KMT)-backed campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers in New Taipei.
The New Taipei District Prosecutors Office said it launched the investigation after receiving reports of falsified personal information on recall petitions targeting ruling party lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城).
Prosecutors have filed a motion with a local court to detain the six individuals and hold them incommunicado on suspicion of criminal forgery and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act, the office said.
Those named include Hsieh Ching-jen (謝慶認), director of the KMT’s Banqiao District office, Tsai Kan-tzu (蔡甘子), the KMT party secretary for the district, and Lo Ta-yu (羅大宇), executive director of the KMT’s Sanchung District office.
Also facing detention are Ying Ta-hua (應大華), a KMT volunteer, Tan Chen-yao (譚鎮耀), chief petitioner in the recall effort against Su Chiao-hui, and Wang Yu-jen (王昱人), a campaign organizer.
The New Taipei District Prosecutors Office also said it questioned 20 people on Tuesday and conducted coordinated raids at 30 locations, including the suspects’ homes, offices and party branches.
Among those brought in for questioning were Hsu Wei-hao (徐偉豪), who led the recall drive against Chang Hung-lu, and Li Ching-hsiang (李清祥), who spearheaded the effort against Wu Chi-ming.
Others included Tsai Cheng-jui (蔡承睿), the designated replacement leader in the recall of DPP lawmaker Su Chiao-hui, and Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led the recall vote petition drive against Lee Kuen-cheng.
When Sung arrived for questioning at the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, he was seen wearing a Nazi armband and carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Sung raised his arm in a Nazi salute, though he did not say why he was dressed up and acting like a German National Socialist.
Prosecutors later said Sung was released on NT$80,000 (US$2,463) bail early Wednesday, and he was seen leaving the building without the armband and concealing the book under his jacket.
The investigation stems from what the prosecutors’ office said was an analysis of data obtained from the Central Election Commission (CEC) and the New Taipei City Election Commission that identified irregularities in joint-signature petitions.
Prosecutors said the evidence suggests violations of both the Criminal Code and the Personal Data Protection Act.
The New Taipei prosecutors’ searches on Tuesday happened the same day six activists suspected of similar crimes were released on bail by Taipei prosecutors over KMT-backed campaigns to remove DPP lawmakers Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) and Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶).
Taiwan is witnessing an unprecedented surge in recall vote campaigns, with both DPP and KMT supporters seeking to oust rival lawmakers.
Under Taiwanese election law, a public recall vote is held if campaigners gather signatures from 1 percent of district voters in the first round and 10 percent in the second of the petitioning process, according to the CEC.
