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.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with