Candidate for Pingtung District Chief was under arraignment for election bribery, and has the status of a party cadre

Pingtung’s investigation of election bribery is a shocking news! A town in Pingnan was shocked to hear the first bribery case in the country involving a district director candidate who was a "party cadre" who was controversial for giving gifts. A candidate surnamed Pan is suspected of making a big move to win over voters by giving away meat dumplings and exquisite kettles worth more than the legal NT$30 during the Dragon Boat Festival. The prosecutors conducted an in-depth investigation and evidence search into the case, and recently launched summonses and searches. The prosecutor believed that Pan was suspected of serious crimes and that there was a risk of collusion and destruction of evidence. Today, he applied to the Pingtung District Court for a detention ban.

What has aroused local concern is that, according to people familiar with the matter, the candidate surnamed Pan also has the sensitive status of unifying and promoting local cadres of the party.

It is understood that the task force recently received information that during the Dragon Boat Festival, a candidate surnamed Pan in a certain township distributed meat dumplings, kettles and other practical items in the constituency in the name of the festival. After checking its market value, it clearly exceeded the 30 yuan bribery threshold stipulated by the Ministry of Justice, and was suspected of violating the "Public Officials Election and Recall Act" for bribery. The prosecutor directed the Pingtung County Police to search Pan Nan’s residence and campaign service office with a search ticket, and brought back relevant persons involved to clarify with the voters who received the gift.

After the prosecutor resumed the interrogation, it was determined that the candidate surnamed Pan was suspected of serious crimes and had avoided the more serious matters when questioned by the prosecutors and police. In order to prevent him from colluding with the confession and affecting the election, he officially applied to the court for detention.