CUPP member gets suspended sentence in Terry Gou signature buying case

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) The deputy head of Taiwan's Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) has received a suspended sentence and fine after being found guilty of helping buy signatures to get business tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘) onto Taiwan's 2024 presidential election ballot.

In a ruling issued Monday, the Taipei District Court sentenced CUPP Deputy Chairman Lee Tsung-kuei (李宗奎) to two years in prison and fined him NT$6 million, both suspended for five years, for violations of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act.

Lee was also ordered to pay NT$3 million (US$92,353) into state coffers, and was banned from seeking or holding public office for four years, the court said in its ruling, which can be appealed.

According to the indictment, Chen Chung-ming (陳仲明), a hot spring tycoon in Taipei's Beitou District, asked Lee in October 2023 to help buy signatures for Gou, founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., to help him reach the required number of endorsements needed to run in the Jan. 13, 2024 presidential election.

Lee prepared NT$1.5 million in funds for the effort, and instructed seven of his employees and friends to help purchase signatures from members of the public for NT$300 each, the indictment said.

In all, the group illegally collected over 1,000 signatures in support of Gou's candidacy, prosecutors argued.

Lee, 74, admitted to the offenses during his trial, as did his seven accomplices, who mostly received suspended sentences.

Chen Chung-ming was tried separately and received a suspended prison sentence and a NT$2 million fine in a trial that concluded last year.