Prosecutors search offices of DPP lawmaker Lin Tai-hua in fraud probe

Taipei, Feb. 20 (CNA) Prosecutors on Thursday searched the legislative and local offices of Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺) as part of an investigation into allegations that she had made fraudulent claims for assistants' salaries.

The searches, which began before 9 a.m., were carried out simultaneously by prosecutors in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Lin, a lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who represents a Kaohsiung constituency, was expected to be questioned by prosecutors later in the day.

Prosecutors have not provided any details of the investigation, but in similar cases in the past, politicians have been known to use the names of family members or friends as proxy assistants to fraudulently claim salaries from public funds.

Lin, 52, served in the Legislature from 2002-2008, and was again elected in 2011. Since then, she has held her legislative seat, and she has reportedly been considering a run in the DPP primaries for the 2026 Kaohsiung mayoral election.

At around 10 a.m., as Lin exited a vehicle in front of an Investigation Bureau office in Kaohsiung's Siaogang District, she held up a piece of paper and repeatedly shouted "political interference in the judiciary, judicial interference in the primary elections."

In a statement Thursday, Lin's constituency office denied any wrongdoing, saying she has always followed the law and will wait for the legal process to play out and prove her innocence.

The Legislative Yuan, meanwhile, said prosecutors had given advance notice of the search, in accordance with the law and in keeping with precedent.