34 KMT staff in Taichung indicted over recall forgery

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Taichung prosecutors have indicted 34 workers from the Kuomintang's (KMT) Taichung chapter for allegedly falsifying documents in an attempt to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers.

The individuals are accused of forging 4,258 signatures after the chapter's decision in January to launch recall vote petitions against Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純), the Taichung District Prosecutors Office said in a statement on Friday.

The 34 have been charged with forgery and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act.

Four of them also face charges of breaching the Public Officials Election and Recall Act, including senior officials Wu Kang-lung (伍康龍) and Chen Chien-feng (陳劍鋒), who were allegedly the masterminds behind the operation.

Prosecutors have requested severe penalties for Wu and Chen, noting that they deleted chat records and did not plead guilty until the final stage of the investigation.

The case is part of an ongoing probe into alleged falsification in recall petitions across the country.

The KMT, Taiwan's main opposition party, has seen around 100 chapter workers indicted in the widening investigation, including 12 from its Yilan County chapter and 31 from New Taipei.

On June 20, the Central Election Commission announced a list of recall votes scheduled for July 26, involving 24 KMT lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安), a former member of the Taiwan People's Party.