Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has applied for a supervised visit after his father was admitted into a hospital intensive care unit, a party spokesperson confirmed yesterday.
Ko has been accused of making illegal financial gains while serving as Taipei mayor from 2014 to 2022 — allegations he denied — and has been in detention since Sept. 5.
TPP spokesman Tai Yu-wen (戴于文) said Ko’s family applied for a visit with a lawyer in accordance with the regulations.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), previously revealed that Ko’s father had a sustained fever, and a hospital examination revealed that he had cancer and fluid in his lungs, requiring chemotherapy.
“Don’t worry about me, please focus on dad,” Chen quoted Ko as saying at the time.
At a TPP event on Saturday in Hsinchu City named “Standing for Justice,” Ko’s sister, Ko Mei-lan (柯美蘭), said their father’s health was in poor condition following surgery and he had been admitted to an intensive care unit.
In a brief statement, Tai expressed gratitude to the public for their support in addition to confirming that the Ko family’s lawyer applied on their behalf for a visit by Ko Wen-je.
Some local media reports said that Ko Wen-je has already been granted permission and saw his father on Friday at the National Taiwan University Hospital.
The Taipei Detention Center declined to comment, citing privacy.
Article 23 of the Detention Act (羈押法) stipulates that with approval from senior detention center officials, a defendant can have a 24-hour window to return home under an escort, with their time away from the facility counting as part of their detention period.
To apply for such a visit, certain documents are required, such as those that prove the relationship between the two people, as well as the medical institution’s diagnosis.
Given the urgency of such notices, it common that a decision is made on the same day as the application is submitted.
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