“REGRET AND ANGER”:
A court said bail, accountability or residency restrictions were not feasible, while the TPP deplored an “abuse of power” by prosecutors.

The Taipei District Court yesterday agreed to extend the detention of Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on suspicion of accepting bribes from then-real estate developers. that he was mayor of Taipei.

The decision to extend Ko’s detention and keep him incommunicado – subject to appeal – was taken due to fears of possible collusion which would harm the investigation, the court said.

Substantial evidence points to Ko’s serious involvement in an alleged violation of the Anti-Corruption Law (貪污治罪條例), which carries a minimum sentence of five years, the court said.

Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times

Evidence suggests that Ko’s alleged accomplices are still at large and further investigation is needed to clarify further details, the statement said.

“Having weighed the balance between the public interest and the rights of the accused, and considering proportionality, it has been determined that alternatives such as bail, accountability or residency restrictions are not feasible , which makes detention necessary,” the text indicates.

Prosecutors say Ko accepted bribes from real estate developers and used his supervisory role to benefit others during his second term as Taipei mayor, from 2018 to 2022.

Ko has been held incommunicado since September 5. On October 25, prosecutors requested to extend his detention by two months.

Prosecutors can ask a court to detain and detain suspects incommunicado, under certain conditions, for up to two months at a time – for a maximum of four months – as the case unfolds. the investigation.

The extension of Ko’s detention comes as no surprise, as the Taipei District Court earlier this week approved prosecutors’ requests to extend the detention of other major suspects in the case, including the Core Chairman Pacific Group (威京集團), Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京). ) and Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

Prosecutors accused Sheen of distributing NT$47.4 million ($1.48 million) in bribes to convince city officials to increase the floor space ratio – the area that a developer can build on a given plot of land – above the boundary of a project. Sheen was involved.

Sheen was redeveloping a site formerly occupied by the Core Pacific City shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山). Increasing the ratio would mean more space could be sold.

Ying was allegedly an intermediary between Sheen and high-ranking officials, including Ko and then-Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), whom the court also ordered held for a second period of two months.

The TPP expressed in a press release “its regret and anger” over the court’s decision.

The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office abused its authority by raiding party offices and remanding Ko in custody, the TPP said.

Prosecutors have no evidence against Ko, but they have sought and leaked information to the media to try him in the court of public opinion, he said, adding that the case was “obviously motivated by policy “.

The investigation has produced no results over the past two months, despite Ko’s cooperation in not contesting his pretrial detention and his calls for the justice system to reveal the truth about the allegations against him, a he added.

Most of those interviewed had nothing to do with the Core Pacific City project and the investigation does not follow any discernible logic, he added.

The TPP said it “supports the legal defense team in filing an appeal on behalf of Ko to restore his freedom” because the justice system serves the interests of the Democratic Progressive Party.