Former DPP lawmaker indicted on corruption, embezzlement charges

Taipei, Aug. 28 (CNA) Taipei prosecutors on Thursday indicted former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) on charges of corruption and embezzlement, seeking a sentence of 24 years and two months.

Chen, who served in Taiwan's Legislature from 2012 to 2020, is suspected of accepting bribes from United Logistics International Co. (ULIC) during his time in office, prosecutors said.

In 2015, Chen allegedly received monthly payments of NT$50,000 (US$1,636) from ULIC Chairman Hung Ying-cheng (洪英正) to employ one of his associates, Hung Wen-tsung (洪文宗), as an office consultant.

Prosecutors said Chen took advantage of his position to hold meetings, raise questions, and propose legislation that benefited the company. This included efforts to lower port land rental fees in Keelung, where ULIC is based.

According to prosecutors, the former DPP lawmaker is believed to have received NT$2.78 million in illicit gains for the favors he provided.

When Hung Wen-tsung stopped working for Chen, the former lawmaker instructed ULIC to transfer his monthly payments to the bank account of another office consultant, Hsu Jen-tu (許仁圖), from May 2021 to July 2023. Hsu withdrew the money on Chen's behalf each time, totaling about NT$1.35 million, prosecutors said.

Chen's illicit income did not come from ULIC alone.

On Sept. 27, 2018, prosecutors said he allegedly accepted a NT$500,000 bribe from Hsiao Ming-jen (蕭明仁), chairperson of the Rentcar Quality Assurance Association, an organization dedicated to improving rental car services and protecting the rights of passengers and the general public.

As Chen was also a member of the Legislative Yuan's transportation committee, prosecutors said the bribe was intended to influence Chen to convene meetings that would delay or amend a new guideline proposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications restricting rental car companies' cooperation with Uber and penalizing illegal passenger solicitation.

In terms of embezzlement, between Feb. 1, 2012, and Nov. 30, 2022, Chen allegedly inflated the salaries of several publicly funded assistants, who were instructed to withdraw the excess amounts in cash for use as office petty cash or, according to directions from Chen and his wife, Hsu Hui-yu (徐慧諭), for other purposes. The total amount involved was NT$4.11 million

Meanwhile, Hsu Hui-yu also used the withdrawn money for personal expenses, including health insurance premiums and home electricity bills.

On Thursday, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said it indicted Chen, his wife and 14 others on 16 criminal counts, including bribery and receiving illicit gains in the course of official duties under the Anti-Corruption Act, embezzlement, violations of the Money Laundering Control Act, and misappropriation of public funds.

The former lawmaker's actions undermined public trust in public servants, the office said, recommending the court sentence him to a combined sentence of 24 years and two months.

Among those indicted, prosecutors also requested a combined sentence of eight years and eight months for Hsu Hui-yu, and seven years for Hung Wen-tsung.

They also suggested that the six office assistants who worked for Chen during this period be given suspended sentences as they confessed, detailed their involvement in the scheme and received no illicit gains.

Meanwhile, as Hsu Jen-tu died in July this year, prosecutors said he was not indicted.