TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's High Court on Tuesday (Dec. 16) overturned Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an's (高虹安) corruption conviction, reducing her sentence from seven years and four months to six months on a forgery charge. The ruling allows Kao to pay a fine instead of serving prison time. The original conviction had included a four-year ban from holding public office, which the appeals court eliminated. Kao, mayor of the northern Taiwan city of Hsinchu, now faces potential reinstatement after the dramatic reversal.
Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) confirmed on Wednesday (Dec. 17) that her ministry received Hsinchu's reinstatement application after business hours on Tuesday (Dec. 16). "Pursuant to Article 78 of the Local Government Act, processing of the official document is currently underway. It will be dealt with promptly once the procedures have been completed," Liu stated, without specifying a timeline for the decision. Acting Mayor Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) stated that the city government has prepared for the transition and work allocation to facilitate Kao's return to office.
The Taiwan High Court ruled that Kao Hung-an and her co-defendants lacked criminal intent for corruption but were found guilty of document forgery. The court determined that public-funded assistant allowances constitute "substantive subsidies for flexible allocation" budgeted under legislators' parliamentary affairs in Taiwan's legislature, the Legislative Yuan (立法院). Prosecutors may appeal the reduced verdict, but the defendants cannot challenge the forgery conviction.
Presiding Judge Pan Tsui-hsueh (潘翠雪), the spokesperson for the Taiwan High Court, explained how Kao committed forgery when hiring assistants Huang Hui-wen, Chen Huan-yu, and Wang Yu-wen. The court found that Kao agreed to pay Chen NT$70,000 (around US$2,229) monthly but reported NT$80,000 (around US$2,548) to Taiwan's legislature, the Legislative Yuan (立法院). This constitutes causing a public official to record false information under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of China. ◼ (At time of reporting, US$1 equals approximately NT$31.4)
