The Taipei District Court yesterday again approved bail for former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), keeping their original bails of NT$70 million and NT$40 million (US$2.32 million and US$1.32 million) respectively.
The ruling follows a decision by the High Court on Friday last week to overturn an earlier district court order granting bail to Ko and Ying on the condition that they wear electronic tracking devices and remain in Taiwan.
They were also barred from contacting, harassing, threatening or asking for information from other defendants or witnesses in the case.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Ko, who had been detained incommunicado since September last year until Monday last week, when he was released on NT$70 million bail, maintains that he is innocent and that the corruption charges against him are politically motivated.
Ying, who has been indicted in connection with Ko’s case, was released on bail on Sept. 5.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office appealed the bail orders on Tuesday last week, arguing that key witnesses had not yet completed their testimony and that Ko had contacted witnesses Chen Chih-han (陳智菡) and Chen You-cheng (陳宥丞) after posting bail.
The High Court found the prosecutors’ appeal justified, revoked the earlier bail ruling and returned the case for a new decision.
Ko and Ying are on trial for corruption and other offenses, in what is known locally as the “Core Pacific City case.”
Ko faces a potential sentence of 28-and-a-half years for allegedly accepting bribes of NT$17.1 million in a property development deal during his tenure as Taipei mayor and embezzling political donations during his presidential campaign last year as leader of the Taiwan People’s Party.
In its ruling yesterday, the district court said that while some witnesses have yet to appear in court, they have testified under oath during the investigation and defense attorneys did not dispute that the testimony would be admissible as evidence during the trial.
The district court said the existing court documents will allow prosecutors and defendants' lawyers to make their cases at the upcoming hearings, and it therefore decided to once again grant Ko and Ying bail and impose restrictions on their movements.
In addition, the court said, the large amount of bail set will impose psychological pressure and restrictions on Ko and Ying that will serve as a substitute to detention to ensure that the upcoming hearings proceed smoothly.
Prosecutors said they will await the official court document on yesterday's ruling to study whether or not to appeal the latest lower court ruling.
In response to the district court ruling, the TPP said that based on the principle of presumption of innocence, Ko's constitutionally protected personal freedom and freedom of communication should not be restricted.
The TPP said that as Ko has been suffering physically and mentally, the party will continue to give support him through the legal process and stand by him and his family to defend his innocence.
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
LONG-HELD POSITION: Washington has repeatedly and clearly reiterated its support for Taiwan and its long-term policy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday said that Taiwan should not be concerned about being used as a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade talks. “I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is, we’re going to get some trade deal or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio told reporters aboard his airplane traveling between Israel and Qatar en route to Asia. “No one is contemplating that,” Reuters quoted Rubio as saying. A US Treasury spokesman yesterday told reporters
RSS