Pingtung mayor dismissed for fraud

• Chen Yan-ting and Lery Hiciano / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Pan Ho-yuan (潘和源) was removed from office as the district mayor in Pingtung County’s Sinpi District (新埤) in a byelection to be held three months after he was found guilty of election fraud, local officials said today.

Pan had won the election two years ago as an independent candidate, but had distributed campaign materials claiming full support of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which prosecutors found to be false.

Although he was initially found not guilty, that verdict was overturned at a later hearing where he was sentenced to eight months in prison for endangering the integrity of the election, a decision that remained after appeal.

Pingtung County officials said an interim mayor will be appointed until the byelection to be held within the next three months, as his remaining term is more than two years.

Prosecutors said the election fraud involved his brother Pan Ho-tsung (潘和宗) and their sister Pan Chun-kuei (潘春桂), both DPP members.

Although Pan Ho-yuan ran as an independent, her sister commissioned a printer through Line to have a banner made for the campaign that read “Fully Support the DPP’s Only Candidate.”

His opponent filed a complaint under election laws, leading to all three brothers facing formal charges.

At the first trial, the Pingtung District Court acquitted them all.

However, upon appeal, the Kaohsiung branch of the Supreme Court ruled that Pan Ho-yuan should have been aware that he was not the real DPP candidate and that his actions affected the election.

Pan Ho-yuan’s brothers were acquitted, and his appeal was later rejected by the Supreme Court.

This morning, Pan Ho-yuan was at a project meeting for the development of a local park, and when asked by reporters on the phone about this news, he said that his family had not heard from him yet.

Pan Ho-yuan is also reportedly involved in an unrelated corruption case related to personnel appointments that is currently on trial.