There are rumors of bribery in the West District Councilor election in Jia City. Three supporters, a father and his son, were involved in buying votes worth 1,000 yuan per vote.

There were rumors of cash vote-buying in Chiayi City's West District council election, and prosecutors charged three people named Li, a father and his son, in custody. (File photo)

As the polling day for the 2026 nine-in-one election approaches, another case of cash vote buying and bribery has been reported in Chiayi City. The prosecutors have received information that three people named Li and his son, who are supporters of Chiayi City's West District municipal councilor candidate, are suspected of buying votes for 1,000 yuan per vote through a specific network of relatives and friends since August. Yesterday, they searched and summoned relevant people to the case. The prosecutor found that the three people named Li and his son were guilty of serious crimes and it was necessary to detain them, so they applied to the court for a detention ban.

This case was jointly investigated by Lu Yachun, prosecutor of the Chiayi District Prosecutor’s Office, under the command of the Chiayi City Investigation Station, the Chiayi County Investigation Station, the Criminal Police Brigade of the Chiayi City Police Department, the Second Branch, and the Puzi Branch of the Chiayi County Police Department.

The task force searched yesterday and seized evidence such as mobile phones and cash. They summoned five defendants, including Li and his son, and notified voters that 18 people were present at the case. The prosecutor resumed the interview and believed that the main suspect, a man named Li and his two sons, were suspected of serious crimes and that there were reasons and necessity for detention. They applied to the court for a detention ban. The male and female defendants surnamed Cai in the same case were ordered to post bail of 50,000 yuan and 30,000 yuan respectively.

The prosecutor emphasized that cash vote-buying seriously undermined the fairness and justice of the election, and the prosecutors and police will continue to conduct in-depth investigations. At the same time, they called on the public not to take chances and try the law, and encouraged them to actively report bribery and jointly maintain a clean election style.