Taipei Prosecutor Hsueh Wei-ping (
Ko has been detained on charges of fraud, forgery and breach of trust since Aug. 7 last year.
"The two new charges were for offences against personal liberty and intimidation," said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office. "His behavior has disturbed public order and he should be properly punished for it."
Ko allegedly harassed China Development Financial Holding Corp Chairman Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) and China Development Industrial Asset Management Corp chairman Benny Hu (胡定吾) when they visited the Taipei Court Building for hearings in July, 2000.
Ko also allegedly tried to court the public spotlight by stopping Liu and Hu and jumping on the hood of Liu's limousine as they left the court.
Ko was arrested by special agents from the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Investigation at his Hsichih apartment home after he twice failed to respond to summonses from Hsueh.
On Dec. 6, Hsueh indicted Ko for taking out mortgages to purchase 26 near-bankrupt companies between 1996 and 1997 before forging and selling shares in the companies, none of which were listed on the stock market.
Prosecutors allege he fraudulently told investors that the companies were manufacturing computer- and biotechnology-related products.
Hsueh's indictment states that Ko, having made no payments on the 26 mortgages, is guilty of breach of trust. In addition, it stated that some of the companies are effectively non-existent.
Ko has become infamous for his publicity stunts, including appearing behind interviewees on daily TV news coverage, taking stray dogs with him to protest at government offices and bombarding the phone lines of business with computerized phone calls.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
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