Taipei deputy council speaker indicted on gambling, corruption charges

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Taipei Deputy Council Speaker Yeh Lin-chuang (葉林傳) has been indicted on gambling and corruption charges for illegally profiting from an amusement arcade business over more than a decade.

The Kuomintang (KMT) politician, who has represented Taipei's Datong and Zhongshan districts since 2010 and served as deputy speaker since 2018, was indicted Friday by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, alleging he illicitly gained at least NT$3.14 million (US$1.03 million) from an arcade in Zhongshan.

Six other individuals were also prosecuted, including Lin Yi-hung (林奕宏) and Chi Wen-chi (紀文齊), who were listed as the arcade's responsible persons, as well as a man surnamed Chen (陳), who managed its operations.

According to prosecutors, the case began in March 2003, when Yeh allegedly asked Lin to rent a building on Linsen North Road to operate the arcade, with Lin listed as the responsible person and Chen as manager.

In July 2007, they began operating gambling machines and earned NT$1.58 million until March 2011. Yeh later had Lin apply twice for an adult-content operating license, but both applications were rejected, prosecutors said.

In 2015, Yeh learned that the Taipei City Office of Commerce was drafting new regulations for arcade operations that would not benefit his business.

He then allegedly wielded his influence, persuading another KMT councilor, Lee Fu Chung-wu (李傅中武), and asking another arcade operator to support amendments in his favor.

This effort led to the passage of an amendment in January 2018 that qualified his arcade for the necessary license.

Under the new license, Yeh replaced Lin with Chi as the responsible person and continued to control the business until May 2019, when the arcade was taken over by other operators.

Prosecutors said Yeh showed little contrition during the investigation and have asked the court to impose a severe punishment.