The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei.
The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail.
After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural meeting between the prosecution and defense scheduled for 9:30am.
After the meeting concluded at about 10am, the detention hearing began at 2pm.
Police said they had mobilized 400 personnel to maintain order around the district court on Boai Road in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正) and would remove protesters if they held signs or shouted slogans.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The court released its verdict ordering Ko’s detention at about 5:20pm.
Ko can appeal the ruling.
“It is regrettable that the court made such a decision, but we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence in accordance with the law,” TPP Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) wrote on Facebook shortly after the verdict.
A statement posted later by the TPP on Facebook said that Ko had been “unfairly treated” by the district court and asked why Monday’s decision had been reversed.
“The TPP will resolutely support Chairman Ko in defending his innocence,” the party said.
The TPP leader was seen at 5:50pm entering a vehicle in handcuffs before being driven to the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城).
In accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), Ko can be lawfully detained for up to four months while prosecutors continue their investigation.
Prosecutors allege that Ko was involved in dealings that contravened the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) during his second term as Taipei mayor from 2018 to 2022.
Core Pacific Group (威京集團) chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) allegedly gave Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) more than NT$47.4 million (US$1.48 million) as part of his company’s efforts to illegally lobby the Taipei City Government to increase the floor area ratio of Core Pacific City, a redevelopment project in Songshan District (松山), to boost the property’s value.
Prosecutors alleged that Ying was a go-between for Sheen and top city officials, including then-Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲).
They also suspect that Ko was involved in the alleged illegal activity.
Ko has denied this.
The district court yesterday ruled that Ko “clearly knew” that raising the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City property was illegal, yet he “insisted” that it happen.
It said that Ko’s case formally meets the requirements for the crime of knowingly “seeking unlawful gains for oneself or for others” as stipulated in Article 6 of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Due to the severity of the alleged crime and the scale of gains, it was necessary and in the public interest to detain Ko and hold him incommunicado, as the risk of him colluding with others or destroying evidence is sufficiently strong, it said.
Ko joins Ying, Sheen, Pong and Ying’s assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) who are being held incommunicado as suspects in the ongoing investigation.
According to the Anti-Corruption Act, taking bribes that undermine official duties can be punishable by a prison sentence of no less than 10 years, while “directly or indirectly seeking unlawful gains for oneself or others” can result in a prison sentence of no less than five years.
Ko and the TPP are also linked to a separate criminal investigation relating to campaign finance reporting discrepancies dating to the campaign for January’s presidential election.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
RSS