Witness testifies in court to bribing former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) A former Core Pacific Group executive admitted on Wednesday to bribing former Taiwan People's Party (TPP) leader Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in connection with a real estate development project during Ko's tenure as Taipei mayor 2014-2022.

Testifying as a witness before the Taipei District Court, former Core Pacific Development Corporation Chairman Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎) said he was responsible for delivering bribes to help the real estate company he worked for illegally boost the floor area ratio (FAR) of its Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Songshan District, in an effort to raise the property's value.

"I admit to bribery. I admit guilt," Chu told the court.

According to Chu, the scheme began about 18 months after he joined the Core Pacific Group, when Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) instructed him to liaise with Ko, officials at the Taipei City Government Department of Urban Development, and Taipei City councilors about the redevelopment project.

Chu said his first meeting with Ko was in May 2016, arranged through Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如), then director of the mayor's office, during which the development project was briefly discussed.

In February 2020, Chu said he arranged a meeting between Sheen and Ko through Tung Chin-yeh (董晉曄), then the mayor's confidential secretary.

Chu said he himself wasn't in the room during their conversation which lasted for about an hour, but told the court: "If they didn't talk about the Core Pacific City case, what did they talk about?"

Chu testified that Sheen also directed him to manage NT$2.1 million in political donations to the TPP under the names of Core Pacific Group employees. Although Sheen did not state the purpose of the donations, Chu believed they were related to the company's efforts to increase the project's FAR.

Chu received a deferred prosecution in exchange for his testimony and was ordered to pay NT$3.3 million to the public treasury within three months.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted Ko, Sheen and nine others in December on charges including bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust under the Anti-Corruption Act.

The other defendants in the case include Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), former Taipei deputy mayor; Huang Ching-mao (黃景茂), former head of the Taipei City Government Department of Urban Development; and Shao Hsiu-pei (邵琇珮), executive secretary at the city government's Urban Planning Commission.

Also indicted were Kuomintang (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇), Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民), Core Pacific supervisor Chang Chih-cheng (張志澄), Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), then head of the mayor's office, Lee Wen-chuan (李文娟), chairperson of MuKo Public Relations, and accountant Tuanmu Cheng (端木正).

At the hearing on Thursday, the court also summoned Ko, Sheen, Lee, and Ying for cross-examination.

Among the observers in the courtroom were Ko's wife Chen Pei-chi (陳佩琪), TPP leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), and TPP lawmaker Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊).