DPP Councilor Chang Chao-liang Indicted for Defrauding NT$10.48 Million in Assistant Subsidies

On May 15, 2017, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office of the Republic of China concluded its investigation into Chang Chao-liang, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taoyuan City councilor. Prosecutors officially indicted him on charges including defrauding property through official duties under the Anti-Corruption Act and making false entries in public documents under the Criminal Code. The indictment stated that between 2010 and 2016, Chang used relatives and friends as dummy assistants or inflated assistant salaries to apply for subsidies from the Taoyuan Council, illegally claiming a total of over NT$10.48 million. The case had previously sent shockwaves through local politics when search warrants were executed in August 2016 and Chang was detained in communicado. Prosecutors accused him of abusing his position to embezzle public funds and requested the court to impose a heavy sentence. The case was finalized in 2020, with the court acquitting him of the corruption charges but sentencing him to 2 years and 10 months in prison for forgery.