High Court rejects appeals by Ko, 3 others against latest detention

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court on late Saturday night rejected appeals against detention by former Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and three other suspects, who are being held as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in connection with the Core Pacific City redevelopment project.

The High Court ruled that Ko, mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, real estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇), and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) should be held in incommunicado detention, it said in a statement issued early Sunday.

The Taipei District Court granted the prosecutors' motion to detain Ying on Aug. 29, 2024, Sheen and Wu the following day and to hold them incommunicado, for suspected bribes Sheen paid to Ying in relation to the redevelopment project on the site of the now-demolished Core Pacific City shopping center.

The suspected bribery involves more than NT$47.40 million (US$1.49 million) transferred from the bank account of the Core Pacific Group and the city councilor.

Sheen claimed the money was for charity causes Ying was involved in, but the prosecutors believe that the time of payments correlated with that of the redevelopment project's gain in floor area ratio approved by the city government from 560 percent to 840 percent in 2021.

In its latest ruling issued late Saturday, the High Court cited sufficient evidence to determine that the corruption charges among others that the four people were involved in were felonies that carry a minimum prison term of five years or more under the Anti-Corruption Act, one of the conditions that warrant detention.

There is also the possibility of them fleeing and colluding with each other to tamper with evidence if they are released on bail or under other restrictions, the High Court stated.

Ko and the three other suspects have filed appeals against their detention earlier this month, arguing there was no fact or credible reason to prove or determine that they were likely to flee, destroy evidence and collude with accomplices and witnesses and there was no need or reason to detain them, according to the High Court statement.

However, after reviewing the relevant files and evidence of this case, the High Court determined that the claims of Ko and others were not credible and therefore rejected their appeals Saturday night. The High Court ruling is final, according to the statement on Sunday.

Ko, 65, was the TPP's presidential candidate in the 2024 election, appealed to the court after a third bail hearing early January and requested to be granted bail.

The former TPP chair was indicted on Dec. 26, 2024 for bribery and other corruption charges in connection with real estate dealings during his second term as Taipei mayor, which began in 2018.

He was also charged with embezzling political donations given to the TPP during the 2024 presidential election.

After being held incommunicado for nearly four months during the investigation into the allegations against him, Ko was released on bail of NT$30 million (US$917,400) on Dec. 27 last year, as ordered by the Taipei District Court.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office, however, appealed the decision and his bail was subsequently revoked on Dec. 29 by the High Court.

The Taipei District Court, in Ko's second post-indictment detention hearing on Dec. 30, ordered that he be released on bail of NT$70 million and be electronically tagged for monitoring purposes.

After prosecutors appealed a second time, the High Court once again revoked the lower court's decision, sending the case back to the district court, which reversed its earlier decision and ordered him detained on Jan. 2.

On Sunday, the TPP expressed regret and sadness over the latest ruling, questioning why the High Court knew that the evidence presented by prosecutors was weak but still insisted on assisting the prosecution. It said that the party will fully support Ko to defend his innocence at this most difficult time.