The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial.
Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses.
The two would also be placed under electronic monitoring and required to carry a mobile phone to report regularly to the court starting on Aug. 2, if they are released on bail.
The four, along with several others, were indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office in December last year on charges of bribery, embezzlement and breach of public trust.
Today's ruling was the fourth time Ko and Ying have had their detentions extended for a two-month period since the indictments were handed down.
The court said that several key witnesses closely connected to the alleged crimes of Ko and Ying have yet to be summoned, without naming them, and therefore the grounds for their continued detention remained.
On the other hand, the court said that witnesses related to Lee's involvement in the case have already been questioned, lowering the risk of collusion.
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