Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) defense team today said they would not file any further appeals, finalizing his detention as prosecutors investigate allegations of corruption linked to a Taipei redevelopment project.
The Taipei District Court on Thursday last week ordered Ko detained incommunicado, reversing its earlier decision to release him without bail after the High Court ordered a retrial.
He may be held for up to four months without being formally charged as the investigation proceeds.
Photo: Taipei Times
The district court in its ruling said that Ko “knew what he was doing was illegal, but did it regardless.”
Ko’s defense team in a statement this morning said that they would not appeal the ruling at Ko’s request, and that the former Taipei mayor would fully comply with all judicial proceedings.
Ko had said before the hearings that he would not launch any further appeals if detained to avoid causing trouble for the judiciary, his lawyers said.
In a followup meeting after the ruling, Ko reiterated his wish not to file an appeal, his lawyers said.
They requested that prosecutors use Ko’s two-month detention to conduct a thorough investigation, during which time the defendant is willing to fully cooperate.
Ko is embroiled in a corruption investigation involving the redevelopment of the Core Pacific City (京華城) shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山).
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) also had their detentions finalized last week after losing their appeals.
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