The High Court yesterday rejected the appeals of four defendants in a corruption investigation involving a redevelopment project in Taipei that has embroiled Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Core Pacific Group chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) and Ying’s assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) all lost their appeals against the Taipei District Court’s decision to detain them late last week.
They are accused of contravening the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) by illegally lobbying the Taipei City Government to increase the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City project to raise its value.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Ko, who was Taipei mayor at the time, was ordered detained on Thursday after previously being released without bail in an earlier decision that was sent back by the High Court.
He can appeal the decision, but had not done so as of press time last night.
There was evidence Pong attempted to tamper with evidence and colluded with other defendants to lie about details concerning the case, the High Court said in its decision.
Sheen and Wu had no reason to appeal, the court said, adding that while Sheen had been granted medical parole, he was returned to prison and was continuing his treatment there.
Ying’s appeal was denied because her suspected crime is serious and holds a minimum penalty of five years in prison, the court said.
There is also reason to believe she might attempt to flee, collude or tamper with evidence, it said.
Ying was taken into custody after prosecutors found that she had attempted to fly to Hong Kong on Tuesday last week.
Prosecutors had stopped Ying at immigration and brought her in for questioning.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS