Mayor, lawmaker convicted of corruption face different outcomes

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Hsinchu Mayor Kao Hung-an (高虹安) has been suspended from duty following a corruption conviction on Friday, but Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒), who was found guilty of similar acts the same day, was allowed to continue in his role for the time being.

The Ministry of the Interior released separate statements about the divergent outcomes of Kao and Yen, citing two different laws that govern local government operations and elected public officials.

The ministry cited the Local Government Act, which states that local government heads will be suspended from duty if convicted of corruption by a court of first instance, with their deputies taking over as acting head.

As a result, Hsinchu Deputy Mayor Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) will take over Kao's duties in a temporary capacity until a final court ruling, which if not guilty would see her reinstated, according to the law.

The ministry's statement came after the Taipei District Court handed down a seven-year-and-four-month prison sentence to Kao for corruption.

Kao, who was found guilty of violating the Anti-Corruption Act and falsifying documents under the Criminal Code when a lawmaker, will also be deprived of her civil rights for four years, the court said in a news release.

Kao, aged 40, was previously an aide to tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘), the founder of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., better known globally as Foxconn.

She later sat in the Legislative Yuan in 2020 as a member of the Taiwan People's Party, which was founded by former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in 2019, and was elected Hsinchu mayor in 2022.

In contrast, opposition lawmaker Yen, despite also being convicted of corruption, is allowed to continue in his role as he was prosecuted under a different law, the ministry said.

The ministry explained that Yen's continued service is due to the fact that his crime did not involve vote buying to get elected, as outlined in the Public Officials Election and Recall Act.

Earlier in the day, Yen was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in prison for embezzling salaries, along with deprivation of civil rights for three years.

He also received an additional six-month jail term for document forgery, though the latter sentence can be commuted to a fine, according to the Taiwan Taichung District Court.

However, if a final court ruling finds Yen guilty, he will be removed from office, the ministry said.

Yen was first elected to Taiwan's Legislative Yuan in 2013 in a by-election in Taichung's Shalu District, replacing his father Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, who was expelled from office after being sentenced to prison in November 2012 on corruption charges.

Yen Kuan-heng won a second term in the 2016 legislative election, but in 2020 lost the seat by 5,000 votes to Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), who became the Taiwan Statebuilding Party's only elected lawmaker.

However, Chen was ousted in a recall election on Oct. 23, 2021. Yen Kuan-heng then ran against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) in a by-election held in January 2022, which he lost.

In January 2024, Yen won the seat back.

Both Kao and Yen pledged to appeal the court's decision in their cases.