A corruption case against Taiwanese independent lawmaker Kao Chin Su-mei has widened after her chief financial aide broke his electronic monitor and disappeared — bad news for the lawmaker and for public trust in legislative spending.

• Investigators searched Kao's office at Taiwan's legislature again, spending half an hour there.
• Her top money manager, Chang Chun-chieh, cut off his ankle monitor and vanished, walking away from a NT$10 million bail bond.
• Both are charged with fraudulently claiming about NT$7.9 million in public assistant subsidies using fake staff and inflated salaries.
• Chang faces additional allegations over association grants, faked company capital verification, and illegally importing Chinese-made rapid tests.
• Prosecutors are seeking more than 16 years for Chang and over 12 years for Kao.

Outlook: The court has ordered Chang's guarantor to bring him in by Thursday or forfeit the bail money, so the next few days decide whether he is found or the bond is seized.