Taipei: The Taipei District Court on Thursday sentenced former Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Liao Kuo-tung to seven years and six months in prison for his role in a 2020 corruption case. Liao was found guilty of soliciting NT$700,000 (US$22,323) in bribes from Kung Hsiang-ke, an employee of New Taipei-based Number Media Ltd., a cloud computing and big data services provider.

According to Focus Taiwan, Number Media is affiliated with Huizhong IOT Hong Kong Technology Limited, which is owned by Chinese IT firm Inspur Co. The company sought approval from Taiwan’s Investment Commission in 2018 to increase its capital, but the request was suspended due to business activities beyond its permitted scope, as noted by Taipei prosecutors.

In March 2020, Number Media hired Kung as a consultant to lobby lawmakers for the capital increase. Kung approached Liao in April, who then directed his office chief, Ting Fu-hua, to manage the matter. Prosecutors alleged that Kung paid NT$700,000 to Liao through Ting, who kept NT$200,0
00 as his commission.

In August 2024, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted Liao, Ting, and Kung on corruption charges. During the trial, Liao denied any wrongdoing, but Ting and Kung admitted to the offenses during questioning.

The court found that Liao had convened meetings with the commission and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Industrial Development Administration regarding the capital increase request, receiving money from Kung in return. Consequently, the court sentenced Liao to seven years and six months in prison and stripped him of his civil rights for three years. Ting received a sentence of one year and four months and was deprived of his civil rights for two years.

Kung was sentenced to four months, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay NT$100,000 to the national treasury. He will also be deprived of his civil rights for one year.