Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah said Tuesday that Hualien Magistrate Fu Kun-chi's naming of his 'ex-wife' as deputy magistrate is invalid, on the grounds that their divorce was fake and that the appointment of his wife therefore is in breach of the relevant laws. Jiang made the announcement following a meeting in which officials from the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Central Personnel Administration, the Executive Yuan and the Control Yuan made the decision. Jiang said his ministry will ask the Executive Yuan to rescind Fu's appointment of Hsu Chen-wei, his wife, as deputy magistrate of Hualien County because the two are still married to each other. According to the Public Official Employment Law, it is against the law for a holder of public office to designate a spouse or a family member living under the same roof as his or her deputy. Fu, who was elected by a landslide in the Dec. 5 local elections running as an independent after being expelled by the ruling Kuomintang, supposedly divorced Hsu Dec. 18 and then picked her as his deputy just three days later. In a bid to make the divorce appear bona fide, Fu re-registered Hsu's family registration in the house of his mother-in-law, who lives next door to Fu, the MOI said in a news release. According to Jiang, the MOI will also ask the Control Yuan to fine Fu between NT$1 million (US$30,000) and NT$5 million for breaking the Employment Rules of the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest because their actual relations are husband and wife. Fu's appointment of Hsu is widely seen as an attempt to hold on to the post, as he is also appealing a six-and-a-half-year sentence for violating securities trading regulations. The MOI said Fu and Hsu are recognized as 'members of the same family' given that they are rearing their children together and because they have told supporters that they are still a family. According to the MOI, the divorce apparently violates Article 87 of the Civil Law and thus was ruled invalid. Also, in line with the fourth provision of Article 75 of the Local Government Law, Fu's designation of Hsu as his deputy is unlawful, the MOI said. The case also violates Article 6 and Article 7 of the Enployment Rules of the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest for naming a 'related person' to a public office post. So-called 'related persons' refer to a spouse or family member living under the same roof, according to the law. 