DPP lawmaker Lin I-chin released on bail in alleged corruption case

Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) and five subordinates were released on bail Thursday morning while prosecutors press ahead with the arrest of the director of Lin's service center on suspicion of corruption.

Investigators from the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office raided Lin's parliamentary office in Taipei and her constituency service center in Tainan on Wednesday. They later questioned 19 people, including Lin, on suspicion of embezzling publicly funded salaries of parliamentary assistants.

Lin was released on bail of NT$1 million (US$31,291). He is accused of violating the anti-corruption law and forgery. The lawmaker is also barred from leaving Taiwan.

Five other people were also released on bail. Liu (劉) was given bail of NT$100,000, Chang (張) NT$70,000, Su (蘇) NT$50,000, and Huang (黃) and Wu (吳) NT$30,000 each.

Prosecutors have also requested that the head of Lin's service center in Tainan, surnamed Huang (黃), be arrested and detained incommunicado over concerns that Huang may attempt to conspire with other suspects, destroy evidence or evade justice.

Of the 19 people questioned, 15 were considered suspects and four were considered witnesses, according to the Tainan Public Prosecutor's Office.

Most of those interviewed were Lin's assistants or employees of the MP's constituency service center, it said.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, the DPP lawmaker told her supporters: “No matter what the reason for the investigation is – whether it is a misunderstanding or a leak from someone with good intentions – as a representative of the Legislative Yuan, I will lead by example and cooperate with the judicial investigation to solve the case.”

Lin, 54, has been a member of the Legislative Yuan since 2020 and represents the 4th constituency in Tainan.

The DPP politician defeated his rival Lin Yen-chu (林燕祝) of the Kuomintang (KMT) in 2020 and Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教), who ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 election.