《TAIPEI TIMES》 Yilan County’s Lin Zi-miao is questioned again

By Lin Ching-lun and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao （林姿妙） was yesterday questioned for a second time in an investigation into alleged corruption in the county government, the Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release.

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Lin and other unnamed individuals were being questioned as part of a joint investigation with the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption, the statement said, without providing further details.

The announcement came hours after media reports said that the commissioner’s son, Lin You-tze （林佑澤）, and daughter, Lin Yi-ling （林羿伶）, were seen being led away by investigators.

Meanwhile, Lin Zi-miao was notably absent from a county government meeting, as were numerous other county officials, including Finance and Taxation Bureau Director Lu Tian-lung （盧天龍）, Bureau of Agriculture Director Kang Li-ho （康立和） and Department of Transportation Director Huang Chih-liang （黃志良）.

Yilan County Government Secretary-General Lin Mao-sheng （林茂盛） said that the commissioner had to attend to unexpected business of an undislosed nature.

Prosecutors on Jan. 13 named Lin Zi-miao as a suspect in a corruption case after searching her home and questioning about 30 people, including the commissioner.

The probe revolves around value-added tax exemptions granted in 2019 for a property in Luodong Township （羅東） and changes the following year to the township’s urban development plans.

Later on Jan. 13, the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） said in a news release that prosecutors had twice searched Lin Zi-miao’s home without uncovering evidence, which breached the principle of proportionality and the rule of law.

The searches negatively affected the county government’s operations and sapped the morale of civil servants working hard to promote the interests of Yilan’s 450,000 residents, the KMT added.

Under the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP）, the county government has mobilized the Control Yuan, prosecutors and police against the opposition party, it said, adding that law enforcement should not be incorporated into the ruling party’s election machinery.

The DPP should stop meddling in the legal system and render impartial justice to Taiwanese, the KMT added.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES