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.
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