Fraudulently claiming assistant fees is difficult to resolve! The KMT and DPP once considered joining forces to "decriminalize" it. A criminal lawyer from Fidelity Law Firm explains the relevant laws and requirements regarding assistant fees, whether they are unclear, and the outcome of constitutional interpretation.

Case Background and Legal Disputes

Fraudulently claiming assistant fees is difficult to resolve! The KMT and DPP once considered joining forces to "decriminalize" it | Mirror News reporters Yen Kai-hsu and Chen Hsin-jui

There are endless cases of legislators suspected of defrauding assistant fees, especially when they were serving as county and city councilors. For example, Hsinchu Mayor Gao Hongan, former Taipei City Councilor Lin Yingmeng, New Taipei City Vice Speaker Chen Wenzhi, etc., were all sentenced. Even though the Legislative Yuan passed the third reading last year to adjust the assistant fee subsidy, many councilors still felt it was not enough and continued to pay out of their own pockets to maintain office operations, but corruption cases still occur again and again, and it seems to have become a historical common karma.

A criminal lawyer from Fidelity Law Firm stated that in the case of Kao Hung-an's assistant fee, the judge had requested a constitutional interpretation because he believed that the relevant regulations on assistant fees were unclear. However, the Grand Justices did not accept the case. Therefore, under the current circumstances, misappropriation of assistant fees has not been decriminalized. Elections still need to abide by the current regulations on assistant fees. If an elector uses assistant fees for private purposes, they may still be subject to criminal liability.

# Assistant fee # Detention and no visitation # Restriction on leaving the country

Opinion of Fidelity Law Firm

What should be confirmed first when encountering similar cases?

• First, organize the event timeline, notices, contracts, chat logs, photos, videos, and payment information.
• Confirm the current stage of the process: it may be just a consultation, you may have been interviewed, you may have received a summons, you may have entered into court proceedings, or you may need to file a lawsuit to seek compensation.
• Assess whether there are immediate risks such as statute of limitations, evidence preservation, detention, imprisonment, settlement negotiations, or media exposure.