The Taipei District Court ruled yesterday that the detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be extended for two months from Wednesday next week.
There is still a risk that Ko could flee and collude with others to destroy evidence, hence the decision to extend his detention, the court said.
It also ordered that three other suspects — Core Pacific Group founder Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), Ko’s former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) and Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) — remain detained and held incommunicado for another two months, citing the same reasons.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Ko has been indicted over alleged bribery, embezzlement and breach of public trust dating to his second term as mayor from 2018 to 2022 and during his campaign for last year’s presidential election as the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate.
Ko last week told the court during the first trial that he was wrongfully accused, with prosecutors alleging that he accepted bribes from Sheen to give Core Pacific Group an unusually high floor area ratio for the Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山).
Ko is also being accused of having used more than NT$60 million (US$1.81 million) in political donations from Muko Public Relations Marketing Co for personal gain.
Ko said he had never closely examined the company’s financial records, believing that the donations were solely from supporters.
He had no intention of embezzling money, he said.
The court also heard opinions on whether Ko’s continued detention was necessary.
TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that the court’s decision was “unacceptable.”
Taipei prosecutors did not provide any evidence to suggest that Ko might flee or collude with witnesses, but the court still extended his detention, Huang said, adding that the decision further tarnished the credibility of Taiwan’s judicial system.
Ko’s lawyers would file an appeal to seek justice, he said.
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