DPP lawmaker sentenced to 7 years for NT$14 million assistant subsidy fraud

Tainan, July 2 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) was sentenced to seven years in prison Thursday for defrauding more than NT$14 million (US$439,000) in assistant subsidies.

The 56-year-old lawmaker was convicted by the Tainan District Court of falsifying assistant salary and overtime records, including using proxy employees, during her tenure as a Tainan city councilor and legislator from 2009 to August 2024.

Lin was found guilty on six counts of violating the Anti-Corruption Act for abusing her position to misappropriate assistant subsidies, which were diverted for personal and constituency office expenses.

In addition to the prison term, the court stripped Lin of her civil rights for four years and ordered the confiscation of NT$14.12 million in illicit gains. The ruling can be appealed.

While the court noted that Lin admitted to the charges and returned the funds during the investigation, it emphasized that as an experienced politician, she was expected to understand subsidy regulations.

The duration and scale of the fraud -- spanning over a decade -- indicated that the misconduct was not a momentary lapse, the court said.

Embroiled assistant

Meanwhile, an assistant surnamed Huang (黃), who worked for Lin for most of that period, was also convicted of exploiting her position, although the court noted that she did not personally gain from the actions.

Huang was sentenced to two years in prison and stripped of her civil rights for three years, with the sentence suspended for five years, the court said.

Under the terms of the suspension, Huang must perform 200 hours of community service and remain under probationary supervision for the duration of the five-year period.

Appeal while retaining seat

In a brief statement on Thursday, Lin said she intends to appeal the ruling to seek a "fair judgment." She noted that once she receives the written judgment, she will discuss the details with her legal team and decide whether to provide further public comment.

Under Taiwanese law, Lin will retain her legislative seat unless she is convicted and stripped of her civil rights in a final, non-appealable verdict.

After Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) was convicted of embezzling assistant subsidies in July 2024 by Taichung District Court, the Ministry of the Interior issued a clarification regarding the rules for legislative status.

The ministry stated that while a conviction for election bribery triggers immediate suspension, in cases such as embezzlement, a legislator retains their seat throughout the appeals process and only loses it if a final, non-appealable verdict includes a "deprivation of civil rights."