Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year jail term for Su Chih-fen, head of the Yunlin county government, for taking bribes totalling NT$21 million (S$995, 680 US).

Shen Tsung-long, deputy speaker of the county council from the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, was among 25 people charged in the same case and he faced a 13-year prison term, prosecutors said.

The move comes days after former president Chen Shui-bian of the DPP was formally detained on allegations of embezzlement, money laundering and taking bribes, although the two cases are not connected.

A string of corruption scandals implicating Chen, his family and senior DPP members has severely tarnished the party's image.

DPP spokesman Tseng Wen-tsang accused the government of persecuting its members and said some 10,000 people would gather in a Yunlin temple on Saturday to support Su.

Prosecutors said the magistrate was accused of taking the kickbacks in a landfill project and a hospital construction project.

Su denies the charges and went on hunger strike shortly after her arrest on November 4 to protest. She has been in hospital since Thursday.

Another DPP magistrate, Chen Ming-wen, has also gone on hunger strike after being detained late last month for alleged corruption.

Former president Chen has refused to eat since being detained early on Wednesday, according to his lawyer.

His pro-independence stance in office set him against Beijing, and he has repeatedly accused the island's China-friendly government of being behind the corruption allegations against him. -- AFP