Prosecutors yesterday questioned Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), while members of the other two main political parties called on Ko, a former Taipei mayor, to come clean about the ongoing corruption probe.
Ko was taken by bailiffs to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, where he was questioned for two-and-a-half hours in the morning, returning at about noon to the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City, where he has been held in pretrial detention since Sept. 5.
In the afternoon, prosecutors reportedly asked Pong about his role while working in Ko’s mayoral administration and about details of a Core Pacific City redevelopment project.
Photo: Chen Tsai-ling, Taipei Times
Prosecutors allege that Ko’s administration approved an increase to 840 percent from 560 percent of the floor area ratio of the project, which would have benefitted Core Pacific Group to the tune of tens of billions of New Taiwan dollars.
Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) said that Ko and Pong should tell the truth about alleged flows of cash between the former city administration and Core Pacific Group.
Prosecutors have deciphered a list of names and figures on a USB drive seized from Ko during a search of his residence in late August, Chien said, citing unnamed sources.
Entries of “500” and “1500” on the device referred to sums of NT$5 million (US$155,400) and NT$15 million that were allegedly transferred from Core Pacific Group chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) to Ko as “political donations” to the TPP, Chien said, adding that the entries were dated soon after Ko’s administration approved the floor area ratio change, as well as an earlier green light in 2022 for construction to start.
“The flow of money has been mapped by prosecutors, which is what Ko and TPP officials were afraid of,” she said. “They can no longer deny their involvement and should give a clear accounting.”
“Where is the money? Is it stashed? What else is hidden from the public” she asked.
Separately, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) called on Ko to cooperate with prosecutors.
“Ko is TPP chairman and a former Taipei mayor, so he has an obligation to explain what took place and a duty to work with prosecutors,” Yu said.
Yesterday was the fifth time that Ko had been questioned since the probe began in the final week of August and the seventh for Pong.
In a previous session two weeks ago, Ko refused to be questioned.
“It is not right for Ko to refuse to cooperate and not provide information,” Yu said.
“If he believes he is innocent, then he could appeal to be released from the pretrial detention, but he did not. Instead, he has resisted and pushed TPP members to claim the probe is political persecution,” Yu added.
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