Former TPP leader Ko pans prosecutors at corruption trial

Taipei, March 21 (CNA) Former Taiwan People's Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) lashed out at prosecutors Thursday during his first appearance at a trial on corruption charges related to a redevelopment project while he was Taipei mayor and 2024 presidential election political donations.

Ko has been detained since early January following his indictment in December for bribery, embezzlement and breach of public trust offenses dating back to his second term as mayor of Taipei from 2018 to 2022 and during his run in the 2024 presidential race.

During the first hearing at which Ko was questioned at the Taipei District Court trial, Ko maintained he was being wrongfully accused, and wondered how the Core Pacific City redevelopment project could be illegal after being approved by the Taipei Urban Planning Commission.

Prosecutors allege that the former Taipei mayor took bribes from real estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) to allow his Core Pacific Group to obtain an unusually high floor area ratio (FAR) for the project in Songshan District.

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

Ko denounced prosecutors for accusing him of having accepted bribes of NT$2.1 million and NT$15 million in connection with the project.

He said he suspected that prosecutors made up the NT$15 million charge simply because former Dingyue Development Corp. President Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎), reportedly a close associate of Sheen, told them the "real estate tycoon [Sheen] smiled walking out of the mayor's office."

The former Taipei mayor denied in court that he has "enriched others, engaged in corruption, or embezzled public funds," saying that even as a doctor before getting into politics in 2014 he did not take "red envelopes" from patients' families.

Currently, the only people who have pleaded guilty in this case are former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) and Shao Hsiu-pei (邵琇珮), executive secretary at the city government's Urban Planning Commission.

Ko claimed that both were pressured into accepting the accusations by prosecutor Lin Chun-yen (林俊言), whom he believed was out to get him as the latter is in charge of the investigation.

Regarding the political donations made to MuKo Public Relations company, which is closely associated with Ko, prosecutors alleged that Ko used more than the NT$60 million in political donations made through Muko for personal gain, which is illegal by law.

In response, the ex-TPP chairman said he never really paid any attention to its financial records, and believed that they were just donations from supporters, and said he absolutely had no intention of embezzling the money.

During Thursday's hearing, the court also heard opinions on whether Ko's continued detention was necessary.

Ko argued that he would never flee or tamper with evidence.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office is currently seeking a sentence of 28.5 years for Ko, who was indicted in December last year alongside 10 other suspects in the investigations.

Fearing, however, that he is a flight risk and could collude with others to destroy evidence, prosecutors recommended that Ko remain detained and held incommunicado until after further cross-examinations of witnesses.

The event lasted for about six hours, after which Ko was escorted back to the Taipei Detention Center.

The court has to make a decision on whether to extend his detention before it expires on April 1.