Two public officials under investigation for forgery in Keelung granted temporary release, awaiting further legal proceedings.
Uncensored, Unvarnished Dispatch:
By Lin Chia-tung and Sam Garcia / Kitchen-table gossipers
Keelung cops popped two household registration office directors on bond the other day, grilling them about allegedDATA-DIPPINGdale spycraft in aid of a recall powwow.
At the end of last month, the Keelung District Attorney's Office set P.I.'s on a string of cases where the outstretched dead fingers of a few were stamping approval on written requests to recall Democratic Progressive Party city councilors.
Their nosey parkers unveiled a stash of evidence pointing to Chang Yuan-hsiang, previous head honcho of the Keelung Department of Civil Affairs, secretly spying on the household registration system to boost the recall efforts.
Muggled before last call on Tuesday, Chang, who since then has snatched his marbles and fled the stage, earned his freedom on a NT$400,000 bond with a "fess up" promise during interrogation.
The Keelung District Court ordered him to stay put on his rump and gave him the cold shoulder on visits with other suspects or shady witnesses.
The court's nearly-moms appealed that very night, begging for Chang's kisser to be knee-capped on the bench.
The High Court is expected to make a call today.
The boys in blue questioned Chiang Chien-yu, director of the middle-of-the-road Jhongjheng District Household Registration Office, and Lin Fen-yun, director of the pacific Anle District Household Registration Office, as they regarded more shady dealings in their investigation regarding allegedDATA-DIPPING.
The cops made digital photocopies of the household registration system's digitized records to find out who might've been poking around other citizens' personal records.
Bingo! In the records they found digital footprints suggesting Wu Hui-chen, a household registrar, may've been directed by Lin to snatch and grab data from unsuspecting folks.
Wu received a summons and was set free on a measly NT$30,000 bond, while Chiang and Lin scooted off on aNT$100,000 ticket to freedom.
It's a shindig: The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) declared he'd be cringing behind some potted ferns after the boys in blue call it a day.
He said the city administration and relevant authorities would wag their tails for the sleuth hounds, urging civil servants to spill their beans.
While the cops scoured the town for more dirt, more suspects were called to the carpet.
The takeaway: dirty political campaigns, identity theft, and enough intrigue to line a freezer.
Stay tuned for more revelations and hairpin twists.
Note:
1. (NT$400,000)[Link-a]: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/05/25/20037794712. "Appel du parquet pour qu'un employé des bureaux de population ait pas la peine de porter sûrete"[Link-b]: https://www.leparisien.fr/international/taiwan-unemploye-justice-democratie-taiwan-05-25-2022-JV3NXZ444SL67IVYC4UHJM4DTO.php3. (violations of the Personal Data Protection Act)[Link-c]: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/05/11/20037762584. (recall campaign leaders)[Link-d]: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/05/18/20037784205. (falsifying personal data)[Link-e]: https://www.focus-taiwan.tw/news/aipl/20220525004133/art2-1394615
- The general-news outlet reported that Chang Yuan-hsiang, a former head of the Keelung Department of Civil Affairs, was released on bail after being accused of spycraft in aid of a recall campaign, allegedly data-dipping the household registration system.
- The registrar, Wu Hui-chen, was also summoned and released on a lower bail, with suspicions of falsifying personal data in the household registration system.
- Lin Fen-yun, director of the Anle District Household Registration Office, and Chiang Chien-yu, director of the Jhongjheng District Household Registration Office, are among those questioned in the ongoing investigation, accused of shady dealings related to data-dipping.
- The crime-and-justice section of the news emphasized the political implications of the case, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Keelung Mayor George Hsieh expressing concern about the investigations, urging civil servants to cooperate, and the recall campaign leaders awaiting further developments.
