Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a 24-year prison sentence for independent Chiayi City Councilor Dai Ning (??) over accusations she embezzled NT$5.18 million (US$175,000) in fraudulent staff expenses.

The Taiwan Chiayi District Prosecutors Office said Dai had for over a decade personally collected the government-paid salaries of four people listed as staff but who did not actually work for her.

Access to bank accounts belonging to the four purported staff members was actually controlled by Dai, who withdrew salaries and bonuses paid between June 2012 and February 2022 and used the money for personal expenses, according to prosecutors.

Dai has denied knowing anything about the scheme, saying only that her father — himself a former councilor who died not long after Dai was arrested — had been responsible for hiring her staff.

As a result of what was described as a “lack of remorse” and an attempt to pass the buck onto her father, prosecutors said they had sought a heavier punishment for Dai.

They added that they had deferred prosecution of the four fraudulent staff members, all of whom have disputed Dai’s account of the alleged embezzlement.

After indicting Dai on charges of violating the Anti-Corruption Act and the Criminal Code on Wednesday, prosecutors said the case had been transferred to the Taiwan Chiayi District Court.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel