The Taipei District Court yesterday rejected a request by former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) for a short exemption from his travel ban to attend his son’s graduation ceremony in Japan, deeming the trip unnecessary.
Ko’s presence is not essential for the graduation to take place and his absence would not prevent his son from successfully obtaining his degree, the court said in its ruling.
Through his lawyer, Ko on Monday last week filed a request with the court to allow him to visit Japan from Monday to Wednesday next week to attend his son’s doctoral graduation ceremony at the University of Tokyo, a move Taipei prosecutors opposed.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Court ruled in favor of the prosecutors, saying that Ko had not provided sufficient rationale for the court to lift the travel restrictions imposed when he was released on bail in September last year.
Ko was released from the Taipei Detention Center on Sept. 8 after a year in custody on corruption-related charges linked to the Core Pacific City project and political donations.
Under the terms of his release on bail of NT$70 million (US$2.2 million), Ko must stay at a registered address, wear a device equipped with a GPS tracking system, not leave the country and not contact other defendants or witnesses involved in the trial.
After receiving Ko’s request to travel to Japan, the court sought opinions from prosecutors, who said that Ko had not presented a concrete plan to ensure he would not flee or collude with codefendants, the court said.
The court’s decision can be appealed.
The Taipei District Court completed all trial proceedings in the two cases at the end of last year and is to announce its verdict on Thursday next week.
Prosecutors are seeking a total sentence of 28 years and six months for Ko, who has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and subsequent trial.
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