A Taipei man and a Taichung woman have been denied bail and detained for alleged online threats to 11 Taipei prosecutors who are involved in the Core Pacific City corruption case.
They were held incommunicado on Saturday after their bail hearing, after the court ruled they were likely to tamper with evidence and collude with others.
The two had allegedly threatened prosecutors and incited others to do the same, contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The man, Tai Jui-ning (戴瑞甯), a software developer, and the woman, Lin Hui-chu (林惠珠), and Lin’s boyfriend, surnamed Chou (周), allegedly posted photos of 11 prosecutors online — edited to add blood-like streaks — with messages such as “Remember their names and faces” and “A life for a life.”
After being questioned, Chou was deemed not involved and was released without bail.
“The photos with threatening messages swiftly circulated on social media and elsewhere online, which would interfere with the case and seriously damage the judicial process,” the court filing said. “Therefore, the request to place the two suspects in judicial detention under restricted communications was granted.”
Prosecutors said they believe Tai had accomplices, as he had posted photos of two judges presiding over the Core Pacific City corruption case — also accompanied by “Remember their names and faces” — in their formal court robes during the court hearing, which is prohibited.
The statement “A life for a life” is believed to refer to the death of former deputy Taipei mayor Pong Cheng-sheng’s (彭振聲) wife, who died last week after she fell from a building.
Peng, along with former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and executives of the Core Pacific Group (威京集團), are embroiled in a corruption investigation into the Core Pacific City redevelopment project.
Judges’ groups and the Ministry of Justice have issued statements condemning the suspects for their alleged actions.
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