Legislator Lin Ching-hsing, a medical practitioner who runs a hospital in Kaohsiung,was charged last year by the Public Prosecutors Office in Tainan with defrauding the National Health Insurance System of NT$190 million (US$5.73 million) between 1999 and 2005 by using forged records of overnight patient stays to collect reimbursement from the Bureau of National Health Insurance.

The prosecutors are seeking a sentence of five years in prison for him, plus a deprivation of his civic rights for seven years after his serves his term.

Lin was expelled from the DPP in April 2006, but managed to have his party membership restored in January this year, thus qualifying him to join the DPP primaries for the 2008 legislative election.

Although Lin received a slightly higher support rating in the primary than DPP Legislator Lee Kun-tse in Kaohsiung's Sanmin east district, the DPP turned its back on Lin and tapped Lee instead.

Lin claimed during a press conference at the legislature Thursday that he was unfairly deprived of his rights because of a behind the-scenes maneuver by the disbanded New Tide Faction.

Vowing that he will not let members of the former New Tide Faction have it their way, Lin said he has closed his hospital in Kaohsiung in order to concentrate on his election campaign.

He lined up his medical personnel in white coats before the media, saying that they have now all become members of his campaign team.

Lin, a controversial figure, was expelled from the DPP twice previously -- in 2000 and 2003 -- for vote buying, but each time he managed to have his party membership restored.

He also breached medical ethics in August 2005 by lining up 11 other doctors at a press conference to declare Taichung Mayor Jason Hu unfit to continue holding office and displayed Hu's medical records to prove the point.

The Taichung Medical Ethics Committee disciplined the 12 doctors, and forbid Lin from practicing medicine for one year.