Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/04/12
By: Hsiao Po-wen and Kuan-lin Liu
Taipei, April 12 (CNA) A former mayor of Gangshan Township in southern Taiwan’s
Kaohsiung City will serve a 15-year-and- four-month jail term after Taiwan’s Supreme Court rejected his appeal in an illegal kickback case.
According to the court’s statement on Thursday, Wu Sen-fa (吳森發), in an effort to avoid his township’s annual budget being cut, entered into an agreement in 2008 with Ho Tsun-hsiu (何存秀), then chairman of the local council, to take kickbacks from businesses looking to secure contracts for the township’s infrastructure development.
The men enlisted a businessman named Lan Chin-chang (藍金章) to be their go-between, which involved Lan telling businesses that if they wanted to win contracts with the township, they would have to go through him and pay 8-10 percent in kickbacks per tender, the statement noted.
In total, the three men received kickbacks from 39 tenders, ranging from NT$26,000-NT$670,000. Wu and Ho split the money 40-60 after paying Lan his fee, according to the court. [FULL STORY]