The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday asked the Taipei District Court to extend the detention of Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Core Pacific Group (威京集團) chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) amid an investigation of the Core Pacific City development project.
Sheen and Ying 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.
The office cited several reasons for extending Ying’s detention, including statements she made contradicting those of alleged accomplices and other witnesses, prosecutors’ pursuit of ongoing investigations of possible accomplices regarding Core Pacific Group’s political donations and having sufficient evidence to show that Ying has corroborated with others.
Photo: CNA
If Ying was allowed to post bail, her connections with people relevant to the case would complicate the investigation, it said.
Sheen still has considerable influence over employees in the group who might be connected to the case, it said, adding that the probe has found that Sheen is in a position to collude with others or try to prevent evidence from being released.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said that Ying’s assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) had made clear his involvement during his detention, and while there was cause to continue to hold him, the office considered it unnecessary and has filed to release him.
Seven defendants are detained in the Core Pacific case, including former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), former Dingyue Development Corp (鼎越開發) president Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎) and Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), chief financial officer of the TPP’s presidential campaign.
Hsu Chih-yu (許芷瑜), a former secretary of Ko, was yesterday listed as a suspect in the corruption probe.
Prosecutors said there was sufficient evidence to list Hsu as a defendant.
Hsu, who also goes by “Orange” (橘子), was Ko’s personal secretary during his second term as mayor from 2018 to 2022.
Taipei city councilors have alleged that she kept track of campaign donations and accompanied Ko to nearly all of his meetings.
Hsu is in Japan.
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