Ex-Taipei official released on NT$5m bail in Core Pacific City case

Taipei, Sept. 14 (CNA) Huang Ching-mao (黃景茂), former head of Taipei's urban development department, was released on NT$5 million (US$156,480) bail early Saturday after being questioned by prosecutors over his role in an alleged corruption scandal linked to the Core Pacific City redevelopment project.

The Agency Against Corruption questioned Huang as a witness on Friday and later listed him as a suspect for allegedly benefiting the Core Pacific Group.

He was then further questioned by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office at around 6 p.m. the same day and was released on NT$5 million bail at around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Prosecutors also forbid him from leaving Taiwan or changing his residence.

They alleged that Huang illegally helped Core Pacific Group, a company with real estate interests, raise the floor area ratio (FAR) of the redevelopment project in 2020 to boost the value of property.

The project involves building a new office complex named Core Pacific Plaza on the site of the Core Pacific City shopping mall in Taipei's Songshan District.

Investigation by the prosecution found that during a meeting with Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) on March 10, 2020, then Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) promised to handle the Core Pacific City FAR case, which he later directed to the Taipei City Urban Development Department in the same month.

Prosecutors believe Ying acted as a go-between between Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and high-ranking city officials including former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲).

Core Pacific City submitted an application for a floor area reward program in July 2020, which Huang and Pong approved, and forwarded it to the Urban Planning Committee for review.

However, the Ko administration and Core Pacific City were engaged in an administrative lawsuit at the time, and the committee held its first expert meeting before the outcome of the lawsuit.

According to prosecutors, Pong and Huang approved the program based solely on a one-page report submitted by Core Pacific City. Based on documents obtained during their investigation, prosecutors suspect that Ko, Huang and Peng facilitated the approval of Core Pacific City's floor area reward, effectively giving it the green light.

It is still under investigation whether Huang and Pong acted on direct orders from Ko or interpreted his intentions on their own.

Ko has insisted he knew nothing about the redevelopment project's FAR.

As of now, Ko, Pong, Sheen, Ying and Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min (吳順民) are all being detained and held incommunicado for their alleged involvement in this case.