Taipei prosecutors yesterday questioned Core Pacific Group chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) again, along with other witnesses, in a widening probe into allegations of corruption against Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Prosecutors are trying to map out a money trail to determine whether it involved and had directly or indirectly benefited Ko.
Ko is suspected of receiving kickbacks from Sheen during his tenure as Taipei mayor, with his administration approving in 2022 Sheen’s Core Pacific City redevelopment project.
Photo: Tu Chien-rong, Taipei Times
Company ledgers show that Sheen had allocated a total of NT$430 million (US$13.4 million at the current exchange rate) for the project’s publicity expenses: one for NT$180 million and another for NT$250 million, KMT Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) and his DPP colleague Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) said.
Chung said he had received tip-offs that the NT$430 million went to pay lobbyists, politicians, government officials and councilors who lobbied or pushed the project.
Ko was among those who allegedly received money from the fund, Chung said.
Sheen allegedly transferred NT$45 million to foundations controlled by Ying, as she had “pressured” city officials to approve a proposal to raise the project’s floor area ratio to 840 percent, which would allow Core Pacific Group to reap more than NT$40 billion in extra financial gains, Chung said.
Chien said that a USB flash drive seized by investigators at Ko’s residence on Aug. 31 included an entry “Sheen Ching-jing, 1,500 2022/11/1,” which could be interpreted as NT$15 million from Sheen on Nov. 1, 2022.
That could be the amount of money Ko received a month after the project’s approval, Chien said.
Another entry around that time showed NT$25 million “from undetermined origins” going to an organization headed by Ko called the Taiwan Public Service Foundation, which could be another conduit for Sheen to pay kickbacks to Ko, Chien said.
Investigators have also found that Ko and his wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), had received NT$6.19 million in cash from unknown sources, and that Chen had deposited the money through multiple ATM transactions near their residence in Taipei, she said.
Chien said that the cash deposit transactions were uncovered by Taipei prosecutors, with the money being deposited to the accounts of Ko’s wife and their three children.
Chien accused the former mayor and his wife of accepting money from business group bosses, either as bribes, kickbacks or possibly for money laundering.
Ko was listed as a suspect in May when Taipei prosecutors launched its corruption probe, in connection with the Core Pacific City redevelopment project, and other construction and public procurement projects when Ko was mayor.
Ko has been placed in detention with restricted communication after questioning. Sheen, Ying and two other suspects are also in detention.
Prosecutors yesterday also questioned two new witnesses — former Taipei deputy mayor Lin Chin-jung (林欽榮), and another city government official. Lin was released without bail in the afternoon.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS