DPP Taoyuan City Councilor Chang Chao-liang Convicted of Forgery in Assistant Fee Fraud Case, Sentenced to 2 Years and 10 Months

On August 5, 2020, the Taiwan High Court of the Republic of China delivered the second-instance judgment on the assistant subsidy fraud case involving Chang Chao-liang, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member and former Taoyuan City councilor. The High Court upheld the first-instance verdict, ruling that although Chang did inflate assistant numbers and salaries during his tenure, the total amount of NT$10.48 million he received was fully paid to other employed assistants rather than pocketed for personal use. Consequently, the court acquitted him of the charges under the Anti-Corruption Act for utilizing his office to defraud property. However, his actions of inflating expenses led to false entries in official records, constituting forgery under the Criminal Code. The court sentenced him to 2 years and 10 months in prison (commutable to a fine) for eight counts of making false entries in public documents, finalizing the case. Although he escaped the severe corruption charges, the conviction for document forgery established his illegal conduct, representing a major stain on his political career.