TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung District Court sentenced 34 KMT officials and party workers for forging petition signatures in last summer’s mass recall campaign.

Of the 34 defendants found guilty of forgery, 32 were given suspended sentences, CNA reported. Two local officials who directed the operation, Wu Kang-long (伍康龍) and Chen Chien-feng (陳劍鋒), received prison sentences of 23 months and 21 months, respectively, suspended for five years.

Wu served as general manager of the branch headquarters in Taichung and headed the recall campaign targeting local DPP legislators Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) and Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純). Chen served as the local party secretary and helped facilitate the forgery effort.

Both were detained in May last year for allegedly copying names from party membership lists, including the names of deceased people, onto recall petitions. In addition to the suspended prison sentences, Wu was ordered to pay NT$300,000 (US$9,400) to the city, and Chen was ordered to pay NT$250,000.

The 34 officials and party workers were collectively found guilty of forging signatures on 4,258 fraudulent documents, per CNA. After the verdict on Friday, Wu and Chen were asked for comment but both declined.

Another 30 officials who had knowledge of or were complicit in the forgery operation were given suspended sentences of 13 to 14 months. Two party workers surnamed Chou (周) and Mai (買) were ordered to serve sentences of nine months and one year, respectively, without the possibility of parole.