Taipei councilor sentenced to 7 years, 10 months in graft case

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun (陳怡君) of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sentenced Monday to seven years and 10 months in prison for corruption by the Shilin District Court.

The court said Chen, 46, was guilty of fraudulently claiming public assistant subsidies and accepting bribes from property developers. She would also be stripped of her civil rights for five years.

Chen's office director, Chang Hui-lin (張惠霖), was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison and deprived of her civil rights for four years.

The rulings can be appealed.

According to court documents, Chen and Chang began in late 2018 to fraudulently claim public subsidies by listing three relatives or friends as salaried assistants even though they did not actually work for Chen's office.

The scheme netted more than NT$3.84 million in illegal gains, which prosecutors said were used to pay office rent, purchase stocks and cover other personal expenses.

Chen was also convicted of taking bribes totaling more than NT$700,000 from property developers between September 2023 and February 2025.

Prosecutors said the payments were disguised as "consulting fees" and made in exchange for Chen using her position as a city councilor to pressure Taipei City government officials to expedite building permits, tree relocation approvals and other administrative procedures related to development projects.

Chen and Chang have returned more than NT$4.55 million (US$143,850) in illicit gains, according to the court.

Commenting on the ruling, Chiu Chun-yen (邱駿彥), head of the DPP's Clean Governance Committee, said the committee will review the case on Feb. 4 and impose disciplinary action in accordance with party rules.

Possible penalties range from suspension of party rights to expulsion, he added.

Currently, Chen remains a sitting Taipei city councilor. Under the Local Government Act, a city councilor receiving a final criminal sentence generally leads to disqualification or removal from office.