Ko Wen-je breaks down in court bribery hearing over bail appeal

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) broke down in tears multiple times Thursday as he spoke about judicial probes he said were politically motivated and of inhumane treatment during his detention, at a court hearing on his appeal for bail.

The charges against Ko in connection with Core Pacific City development project are merely an attempt to "bring me down" and implicated uninvolved individuals, resulting in wrongful detentions, the former mayor told the Taiwan Taipei District Court.

Ko, who has been in incommunicado detention at Taipei Detention Center for over a year, said that he lives in a cell with no sunlight, where he "sleeps by a foul-smelling toilet" that forces him to wear a mask even while sleeping.

The hearing was held to review the requests filed by Ko and Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇), who was also indicted on bribery in the same case, seeking their release when their extended detention period ends on Oct. 1.

Ko and Ying were among 11 people indicted in December last year over the project in which Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) is alleged to have bribed Ko for favorable treatment during his tenure as mayor.

The investigation into the project started amid suspicion about the sharp increase in the floor area ratio -- the total floor space of a building divided by the size of the land it sits on -- from 560 percent to 840 percent.

Ko was charged on four counts, including allegedly receiving a NT$15 million (US$489,000) bribe from Sheen -- who was granted bail and released in July -- for which prosecutors are seeking a total prison term of 28 years and six months.

During the court hearing, Ko said prosecutors cited the alleged bribe as the main reason for his detention, but questioned what evidence they had to support the allegation after a year in custody.

Ko said some suspects were wrongfully dragged into the trial, including his former deputy Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲), "whose family was devastated."

Ko was referring to Pong's wife, who committed suicide on July 1, when Pong was scheduled to attend a court hearing to review his interrogation transcript from September last year, during which he pleaded guilty.

Pong is one of four of the 11 indicted who have pleaded guilty, but Ko's lawyers argued that his plea resulted from "improper interrogation" and asked the court to examine it -- a review that was postponed until Tuesday due to his wife's death.

At Tuesday's hearing, Pong said that while he believed there was no legal issue with the Core Pacific City case, prosecutors deemed the referral of the project's floor-area ratio review to the Taipei Urban Planning Commission to constitute illicit profiteering.

Since prosecutors are legal experts, he said, "I pleaded guilty."

In response, Ko's lawyers again questioned the prosecution's allegedly "improper interrogation" of Pong and noted inconsistencies in his interrogation records.

For her part, Ying was indicted for allegedly receiving NT$52.5 million in three installments from Sheen to facilitate an increase in the floor-area ratio for the project, for which prosecutors are seeking a 16-year prison term and NT$50 million in fines.

During Thursday's hearing, prosecutors said Ko, Ying, and others must remain detained to prevent collusion, as key witnesses and suspects have not been fully questioned.

After the hearing, Ko and Ying were returned to Taipei Detention Center. The presiding judge said the ruling as to whether they can be released will be issued at an appropriate time.