Court bans Kaohsiung City councilor from leaving country in corruption case

Kaohsiung, Nov. 28 (CNA) The Kaohsiung District Court on Thursday banned city councilor Huang Shao-ting (黃紹庭) from leaving the country for eight months over an ongoing corruption case.

The court held a hearing at 3 p.m. on Thursday after the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors office officially charged Huang with violations against Taiwan's Criminal Code and Anti-Corruption Act earlier the same day.

Prosecutors charged 14 individuals, including Huang and his wife, with embezzlement related offenses.

Huang, a member of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), is accused by prosecutors of embezzling approximately NT$14.55 million over three-terms as a Kaohsiung City councilor.

Prosecutors claim that since assuming office on Dec. 25, 2014, Huang illegally claimed NT$13.09 million from falsely reporting how many assistants he employed, whose salaries are subsidized by the government.

One such individuals who falsely claimed to be one of Huang's assistants was his wife, surnamed Lee (李), who lives in the United States.

Huang is also accused of making an additional NT$1.45 million by reporting higher salaries for his actual assistants to the city government while paying them less and pocketing the difference.

During the investigation, Huang left the country a day before prosecutors were able to secure a search warrant.

He then returned to Taiwan a day later than his scheduled return.

Kaohsiung prosecutors also said that in addition to the embezzlement claims, throughout the investigation Huang also spread false information to the general public through the media.

However, prosecutors went on to add that Huang has since confessed to his crimes and returned his ill gotten gains on top of naming other individuals involved in the embezzlement.

In light of this cooperation, prosecutors indicated they would ask for leniency on Huang's behalf as long as he continues to admit his guilt during the trial.

During the hearing, prosecutors informed the court that due to Huang's family residing abroad, he is a clear flight risk and could collude with others.

In response to the such concerns, Huang's defense pointed to the fact that he voluntarily returned to Taiwan.

On Thursday, the court restricted Huang from leaving the country for eight months, during which time the city councilor will be subject to remote monitoring and have to check in with a case officer every Thursday and Sunday.

The court also set Huang's bail at NT$1.5 million, adding that he cannot use city council meetings as an excuse to not check in with his case officers.