Prosecutors seek detention of 3 in Core Pacific City corruption probe

Taipei, Aug. 29 (CNA) Prosecutors on Wednesday requested the detention of three individuals including a Taipei City councilor and released several of their associates on bail in an escalation of a corruption case embroiling former Taipei mayor and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).

Prosecutors requested the formal detention of Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇), Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) and Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) for their suspected involvement in bribery related to real estate dealings.

Meanwhile, Core Pacific Board Chairman Chen Yu-kun (陳玉坤) was released on bail of NT$12 million, the director of Ying's office Wang Tsun-kan (王尊侃) was released on bail of NT$5 million, and Ying's assistant Chen Chia-min (陳佳敏) was released on bail of NT$2 million.

The six suspects and 12 alleged witnesses were questioned by prosecutors and investigators from the Ministry of Justice's Agency Against Corruption.

"I don't feel that I've been wronged at all," Ying told reporters as she walked into the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning on Wednesday night.

"An upright person isn't afraid of having a slanted shadow. I'll persist in doing the right thing, okay?" the city councilor said.

Furthermore, investigators searched 48 locations on Wednesday, including the Core Pacific Group and Taipei City Council offices, as well as the residences of Ying and Sheen Ching-jing.

Prosecutors instructed the Agency Against Corruption team to arrest Ying on Monday after they learned she intended to travel to Hong Kong that evening.

The actions of investigators over the past few days represent a major escalation in the anti-corruption probe that began in May.

That month, Ko -- who came third in January's presidential election -- was listed as a suspect for his role in alleged collusion between city officials and real estate interests during his time as Taipei mayor.

Specifically, the floor area ratio (FAR) of Living Mall (京華城購物中心), also known as Core Pacific City in English, increased from 560 percent to 840 percent during Ko's tenure as leader of Taiwan's capital city.

This increase in the FAR, which refers to the total allowable floor area of a building relative to the size of the land it occupies, prompted speculation that bribes had been given to city officials to increase the property's value.

Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), who was deputy mayor of Taipei under Ko's administration of the city, was prohibited by prosecutors earlier this month from leaving the country and changing his residence.

The FAR increase was approved at a meeting of the Taipei Urban Planning Commission, which Pong had chaired.

The intensification of the investigation represents a further headache for Ko, who faces criticism after admitting on Monday that he spent NT$43 million of his party's presidential election subsidy to buy an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei's Zhongzheng District in May this year.

The TPP is also under investigation by the authorities for alleged misreporting of campaign finances from around the time Ko stood as a presidential candidate in Taiwan's election in January.

Earlier this month, an accountant hired by Ko's campaign team and the chairman of a company that sells merchandise bearing Ko's trademark "kp" logo was released on bail for their suspected involvement in the campaign finance scandal that has rocked Taiwan's third-largest political party.