TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday indicted the sister of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺), alleging her involvement in a legislative aide fraud scheme that has already led to Lin’s indictment.
Prosecutors said Lin’s sister received NT$320,000 (US$10,470) in publicly funded assistant salary payments between January 2021 and November 2024, despite allegedly failing to perform the duties of a legislative aide, per CNA. At one point, her monthly salary claim reportedly reached NT$130,000, a figure prosecutors argue is unusually high and inconsistent with standard practices.
The prosecution said that Lin’s sister was part of the same embezzlement scheme outlined in Lin’s earlier indictment. In June, Lin and eight co-defendants were charged with defrauding NT$14.7 million in assistants’ pay.
During questioning, Lin defended the payments, reportedly saying that maximizing the use of publicly allocated aide budgets is not inherently illegal and that the key issue is whether her sister actually fulfilled her role as an aide. She said the pay was adjusted based on her sister’s ability to work flexible hours.
Lin’s sister also defended herself, saying she was told her salary would vary and claiming she did not know how it was calculated. She argued that since she had performed work in the capacity of an aide, the payments were legitimate compensation.
Prosecutors said they considered the sisters' statements along with the collected evidence and found sufficient grounds to proceed with charges.
Before the scandals broke, Lin had been considered the frontrunner in the DPP’s Kaohsiung mayoral primary, per UDN. Party insiders said that when Lin led the race, there were internal discussions about consolidating support among other candidates aligned with former Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), including Legislators Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩), Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆), and Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑).
With Lin’s support collapsing under the weight of legal troubles, the urgency for consolidation has waned. The nomination is once again seen as open to all contenders.
However, party insiders note that the DPP anticipates a tough race ahead, especially against rising Kuomintang challenger Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩).
A recent internal DPP poll conducted from Aug. 26 to 28, with a sample size of 1,077 and a margin of error of ±2.99%, found Chiu leading in intra-party favorability, per ETtoday. Lai was identified as one of the most competitive candidates in a general election matchup against Ko.
