Aide questioned after indicted lawmaker’s office manager jumps bail

Taipei prosecutors have questioned an aide who on Sunday allegedly met with Chang Chun-chieh (張俊傑), the office manager of indicted independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅), before Chang jumped bail.

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement that it and the New Taipei City Police Department's Xindian Precinct on Tuesday searched the homes of Chang, his daughter, and another aide to Chin, surnamed Chen (陳), who was also summoned for questioning.

Additional searches were yesterday conducted at Chen’s office at the Legislative Yuan, prosecutors said, adding that she was later granted bail of NT$50,000 (US$1,589) and placed under residency restrictions.

Chang Chun-chieh, left, the office manager of indicted independent Legislator May Chin, is escorted by an Investigation Bureau officer in an undated photograph.

Photo: Liu Yung-yun, Taipei Times

Chen met with Chang at about 10am on Sunday and the two shared a meal for less than an hour, during which time Chang is suspected of giving Chen unspecified objects, local Chinese-language news reports said.

The alleged contact came hours before Chang’s electronic wrist monitor sent out a low-battery alert on Sunday night. Responding police discovered that Chang had gone missing and his monitor had been broken and discarded.

An arrest warrant was issued for Chang, but as of yesterday he had not been found.

Chin, Chang and 22 others were on June 8 indicted on corruption and fraud-related charges related to the embezzlement of public funds and the importation of unapproved COVID-19 test kits from China.

Chin, who has denied wrongdoing, is accused of fraudulently obtaining more than NT$7.87 million in public funds through fraudulent claims for legislative assistant salaries, bonuses, overtime pay and childcare subsidies.

Chin registered several individuals, including her siblings, as legislative assistants, despite them not actually performing any duties, prosecutors said.

Chang is accused of conspiring with Chin to fraudulently obtain funds earmarked for assistant salaries, as well as using an indigenous cultural association to fraudulently obtain more than NT$9.33 million from government agencies and state-owned enterprises.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, Chin also authorized Chang to enlist others to illegally import 74,400 unapproved rapid test kits from China, circumventing medical device regulations, prosecutors said.

However, Chin has said that the rapid test kits were intended to help indigenous communities amid a shortage of the devices in Taiwan.

In the indictment, prosecutors recommended a sentence of at least 16 years for Chang and 12.5 years for Chin.

Chang, who was held incommunicado for nearly four months before he was charged, was released on NT$10 million bail in June.

At the time, Chang’s lawyers sought his release on health grounds as he is over the age of 70 and battling lung cancer.

During the first day of his trial on Sept. 1, Chang denied the corruption charges but admitted to other offenses, such as document forgery.

He said that he was not a legislative aide in name only, but had actually performed his duties and lacked criminal intent.