TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Hualien residence of Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁), convener of the KMT legislative caucus, and his wife, Hualien County Magistrate Hsu Chen-wei (徐榛蔚), was searched Friday by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau.
In addition to searching Fu’s residence in Hualien, where he also served as the county magistrate from 2009 to 2018, the MJIB issued a sudden order on Friday to relieve and replace the director and deputy director of the MJIB’s Hualien field office, reported UDN.
The home in Jian Township was searched at around 9 a.m. and investigators looked around for about an hour. They also inspected the nearby residence of Fu’s housekeeper, surnamed Li (李), reported Mirror Media.
The investigation relates to a potential violation of the Business Entity Accounting Act in a case opened by the MJIB in February. The case already has one defendant, surnamed Su (蘇), who represents the Shan Tian Xia Company.
The company is accused of forging records of earnings and expenses related to campaign items manufactured in China. The main items under scrutiny are a batch of at least 10,000 grooming kits (tweezers, nail clippers, scissors) that Fu allegedly provided to other KMT candidates running for legislative seats.
This week, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office issued warrants for the MJIB to search five locations, including Fu’s residence, Li’s residence, the company office, and two in Taichung.
After the search of his property, Fu addressed the press in Taipei to denounce the actions of the MJIB and deny any wrongdoing. Fu claimed the investigation into the campaign materials and the Shan Tian Xia Company is already settled, and said the Taipei District Prosecutors Office has no jurisdiction to reopen the case or search his residence, reported ET Today.
In his address, Fu also accused President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) of using the Taipei District Prosecutors Office to intimidate opposition lawmakers. A press release from Fu’s legislative office said prosecutors are attempting to frame the purchase of campaign merchandise from China as illegal foreign campaign donations, reported UDN.
Fu has a history of legal cases related to corruption and stock manipulation. In 2018, he was sentenced to eight months in jail for insider trading. He served seven months and was released one month early for good behavior.
