Ex-Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je's office head posts bail in corruption trial

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), who headed former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je's (柯文哲) office during his tenure, posted the NT$20 million (US$682,662) bail ordered by the Taipei District Court and was released Wednesday.

Lee was one of 11 individuals indicted in December over alleged corruption related to the Core Pacific City redevelopment case, and has been detained since Sept. 27, 2024 during the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office's investigation.

Following the indictment, the Taipei District Court initially granted bail to Ko, Lee, Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) and Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), but the Taiwan High Court heard the prosecutors' appeal and ordered the lower court to review its decision.

The district court, on Jan. 2, approved a motion from prosecutors to detain the four for three months, followed by two two-month extensions.

On Monday, the district court decided to extend the detention of Ko and Yin for another two months from Aug. 2, while Lee and Sheen were granted release on bail under related conditions.

Sheen, who was being treated at National Taiwan University Hospital in custody, was granted bail of NT$180 million (of which at least NT$100 million had to be paid under his own name).

The court ruled that Sheen and Lee would be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with co-defendants or witnesses.

The two are also ordered to be placed under electronic monitoring and required to carry a mobile phone to report regularly to the court starting Aug. 2.

Sheen is accused of paying bribes to Ko and other city officials, with Ying serving as the middleperson, according to the indictment, in order to obtain an unusually high floor area ratio (FAR) for the Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Songshan District during Ko's stint as Taipei mayor.

The FAR refers to a building's floor space relative to the size of the lot it is built on. Permitting a higher FAR meant Sheen's Core Pacific Group could build bigger structures than previously allowed by law and make more money on the development.

Ko is also charged with illegally expropriating more than NT$60 million in political donations through MuKo Public Relations Marketing Co., Ltd. for personal use.

Ko maintains that he has commmitted no crimes.