Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday maintained his innocence and lashed out at prosecutors in his first hearing on allegations of bribery and embezzlement at the Taipei District Court.
“I did not seek illicit gains, engage in corruption or misappropriate public interests,” he told the court.
The hearing ran from 5pm to 11pm with several breaks, after which Ko was remanded to the Taipei Detention Center.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office in December last year concluded investigations into the Core Pacific City corruption case. They also alleged that political donations were misused and indicted Ko and several others on charges including bribery, embezzlement and breach of public trust.
Prosecutors are seeking a total prison sentence of 28-and-a-half years for Ko.
Prosecutor Liao Yen-chun (廖彥鈞) said that Ko illegally helped real-estate conglomerate Core Pacific Group obtain its desired floor area ratio, despite knowing that the approval should not have been granted.
Ko allegedly accepted two bribes totaling NT$17.1 million (US$518,370) in exchange for helping the company, Liao said, adding that as Taipei mayor, he betrayed the public’s trust and sided with corporate interests.
Ko maintained his innocence, accusing the Democratic Progressive Party, the court and media outlets of collaborating to smear his image.
He also said Liao threatened him during the interrogation by saying that “inappropriate videos” found on a confiscated USB flash drive would be publicly released if he did not plead guilty.
Two people connected with the case have pleaded guilty: former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) and former Taipei Urban Planning Commission executive secretary Shao Hsiu-pei (邵琇珮).
Prosecutors said Ko pressured his codefendants who pleaded guilty by alleging, without evidence, that they were subject to improper interrogations.
Prosecutors also said Ko was “playing dumb” about the names on the files in the confiscated USB flash drive, admitting he knew about the drive during interrogation, but then claiming he did not know during the hearing.
Regarding political donations made to Muko Public Relations company, which is closely associated with Ko, prosecutors alleged that Ko used more than NT$60 million in political donations made through Muko for personal gain.
Ko said he never paid any attention to its financial records, and believed that they were just donations from supporters, and that he had no intention of embezzling the money.
Fearing that he might be a flight risk and could collude with others to destroy evidence, prosecutors recommended that Ko continue to be detained and held incommunicado until after further the cross-examinations of witnesses.
Ko said that he would not flee, and that there is no point in falsifying evidence, as the information is limited.
The court has to make a decision on whether to extend his detention before it expires on April 1.
About 100 of Ko’s supporters, including Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), gathered outside the court to protest the proceedings until the early hours of yesterday.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he