TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tzu-miao (林姿妙) was indicted for corruption Tuesday (Aug. 23), just three months ahead of her re-election bid.

The investigation broke into the open in January, when prosecutors raided homes and offices and questioned suspects and witnesses about an urban development project in the township of Luodong, where she served as mayor before being elected county chief in 2018. The probe focused on exemptions granted on value-added tax for the site.

The Yilan District Prosecutors Office on Tuesday charged Lin and her daughter, Lin Yi-ling (林羿伶), with corruption, while 13 others were also indicted, CNA reported. The prosecutors asked the court to hand down a severe sentence.

The investigators also said the county chief had been unable to explain the origin of more than NT$70 million (US$2.31 million) in her possession, despite claiming her only sources of income were her NT$150,000 salary and NT$30,000 in rental income per month.

Lin continues to claim innocence, accusing prosecutors of timing the indictments to coincide with her re-election campaign. She insisted she would register as planned on Sept. 1 as the Kuomintang (KMT) candidate for the Nov. 26 elections.