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Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao faces dual legal challenges
Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao is set to appear in Taipei District Court on Wednesday, December 27, as the defendant in two separate legal matters. In the morning case, Kao is accused of defamation by Tario Ong, a business professor at Western Washington University, who claimed on social media that Kao’s doctoral thesis contained unreferenced data from the Institute for Information Industry. After Kao reported Ong for aggravated defamation and the prosecutor chose not to indict, Ong filed a countersuit. In the afternoon case, Kao is facing charges of fraudulently claiming assistant fees during her time as a legislator. The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office has charged Kao with fraudulently obtaining NT$460,030 in wages and overtime pay for her assistants, resulting in charges of embezzlement and forgery. The courtroom may face an overflow of observers from the Hsinchu City Government. The cases are ongoing with further developments pending.2023/12/27 10:38