Missing Kaohsiung councilor found departed for China amid probe

Taipei, Sept. 27 (CNA) Prosecutors confirmed on Friday that Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Shao-ting (黃紹庭) who is being investigated as part of a corruption probe boarded a flight headed for the Chinese city of Xiamen on Thursday.

Huang was nowhere to be found when investigators searched his residence and office in Lingya District on Thursday, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office said.

Besides failing to show up for questioning, the 54-year-old councilor did not attend the Kaohsiung City Council meeting that morning.

It was later discovered that he had boarded a flight to Xiamen from Kaohsiung International Airport at around 7 a.m. that same day, prosecutors said.

Some nearby residents reportedly saw Huang leave his constituency office with luggage in a hurry, prosecutors noted, adding that they suspected word of the search likely got out beforehand.

Prosecutors said they had been informed by a source that Huang would return to Taiwan and submit to questioning as soon as a flight was available, without elaborating on the details.

In a statement issued Friday via the main opposition Kuomintang's social media group, Huang responded that the China trip had already been on his personal agenda.

Meanwhile, he denied knowing about the search beforehand and said he had not tried to avoid the investigation.

The councilor said he told investigators of his planned trip after learning about the search on Thursday and said he would report back when he had finished managing his affairs in China.

Regarding the publicly-funded assistant fees, Huang asserted that he did everything by the book and never made any false declarations.

The city councilor is being investigated for allegedly inflating the fees of publicly-funded assistants working in his constituency office, a criminal offense that can lead to a prison sentence.

During Thursday's search, 17 people, including the councilor's parents and his office staff, were brought in by prosecutors for questioning. Six of them were later released after posting bails of between NT$20,000 (US$631) and NT$300,000.

Prosecutors are still seeking the detention of one of Huang's office personnel.

Meanwhile, the others were allowed to leave after being questioned, prosecutors said. They added they would not rule out issuing a warrant for Huang's arrest if he failed to show up for the investigation.