Former DPP Taoyuan city councilor detained on allegations of fraud

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Former Taoyuan City Councilor Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was detained and held incommunicado Thursday on charges of fraud during his term in office from 2011 to 2019.

Wu will remain in detention for the next two months, as he is deemed highly likely to flee the country and has the means and motive to do so, according to the Taoyuan District Court ruling.

Following the ruling, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that it had sought to remand Wu and his assistant in custody on charges of fraudulently claiming nearly NT$10 million (US$340,718) by reporting the employment of "phantom assistants" during the period 2011 to 2019.

Prosecutors had sought a court order to hold both suspects in custody, but the Taoyuan District Court granted the assistant surnamed Fan-Chiang (范姜) bail of NT$300,000.

During the detention hearing Thursday, Wu admitted to some of the charges but denied others. The charges against him carry a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Prosecutors argued that given his denial of the allegations and his significant influence over his former assistants, there is a high risk that he would seek to tamper with the evidence and collude with witnesses, therefore, he should be held incommunicado.

According to the court, further investigation is required to check Wu's denial of certain allegations.