A candidate for mayor of a township in Miaoli was detained and banned from meeting due to bribery related to giving a gift box of dried tea and fruit worth NT$300.

A candidate for mayor of a township in Miaoli was detained and banned from meeting for bribery after giving a 300 yuan gift box of tea and dried fruits. (File photo)

The Miaoli District Prosecutor's Office received reports that a candidate for mayor of a certain township distributed gift boxes containing tea and dried fruits with a market value of about 300 yuan to many voters in order to bribe voters. The prosecutors and police launched two waves of large-scale searches for two days in a row, and the soldiers were divided into 32 routes and summoned 29 people to the case. After a retrial, the prosecutor determined that a total of 8 people, including the candidate, were involved in serious voting bribery crimes and were at risk of collusion and destruction of evidence. They applied to the court for detention ban. After the hearing, the Miaoli District Court this afternoon ruled that a total of 7 people, including the candidate, were allowed to be detained and banned, and 1 person was ordered to be sent back.

The Miaoli District Prosecutor's Office pointed out that the case was jointly investigated by the Miaoli County Police Department and the Miaoli County Investigation Station of the Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice under the command of Chief Prosecutor He Jiankuan and Prosecutor Xu Ziyuan. After the task force obtained the information, it launched two waves of searches on September 23 and 24, executing 32 locations, and summoned and notified 29 people to the case.

After interrogation, the prosecutor believed that the candidate's crime of voting bribery was serious, and that there were enough facts to prove that there was a risk of annihilating evidence and colluding with accomplices and witnesses. He continued to apply to the court for detention and ban. The other two defendants were ordered to post bail of 20,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan respectively, and the remaining people involved in the case were asked to return.

After successive hearings in the Miaoli District Court, the judge ruled that a total of 7 people, including the candidate, should be detained without permission, and the other 1 person was ordered to be released.