Taipei: New Taipei City Councilor Yang Chun-mei was released on NT$500,000 (US$15,700) bail and barred from leaving Taiwan after prosecutors alleged she is involved in a scheme to buy votes using laundry detergent as an incentive, the New Taipei District Prosecutors' Office announced.
According to Focus Taiwan, prosecutors are delving into claims that Yang distributed laundry detergent and other household items to voters at various community activity centers. This incident marks the first suspected vote-buying case involving a New Taipei City councilor in the current year's local election cycle.
Prosecutors reported conducting searches of Yang's home, office, and other locations on Tuesday, where they discovered large quantities of laundry detergent and other items allegedly meant for voter distribution. Following the investigation, 21 individuals, including Yang, her two assistants, and witnesses, were questioned. Yang and her assistants are suspected of offering bribes to voters in exchange for electoral support.
Yang, a four-term Kuomintang councilor representing New Taipei's electoral constituency No. 12 for Plains Indigenous Tribes, has recently registered to run for a fifth term in the upcoming local elections. In addition to Yang, one assistant was released on NT$400,000 bail and also barred from leaving Taiwan, while the other was released on NT$40,000 bail. The other individuals questioned were released following their interviews with prosecutors.
Taiwanese law does not stipulate a specific monetary threshold for election gifts to be considered vote-buying. The primary concern, as outlined in the Public Officials Election And Recall Act, is whether the gift is intended as an improper benefit to influence voting behavior.