Ko ordered detained, held incommunicado

The Taipei District Court has yesterday ordered Taiwan People's Party leader Ko Wen-je to be detained and held incommunicado for suspected corruption dating back to his tenure as mayor of Taipei.

The decision reversed a previous order, which ordered Ko's release without bail.

However, the High Court ruled following an appeal by prosecutors on Wednesday that Ko had been "actively involved" in the alleged corruption, requiring a second detention hearing for Ko.

Ko can appeal the ruling.

Ko is facing charges of corruption in real-estate dealings, allegedly violating the Anti-Corruption Act during his second term as Taipei mayor from 2018 to 2022.

Prosecutors allege that Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing gave Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei over NT$47.40 million (HK$11.5 million) to lobby the Taipei City government to increase the floor area ratio of Core Pacific City - a shopping mall in Songshan District - to increase the property's financial value.

Ying is believed to have acted as a go-between between Sheen and high-ranking officials, including former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng.

Ko joins Ying, Sheen, Pong and Ying's assistant Wu Shun-min, who are all detained and being held incommunicado as suspects in the ongoing investigation.

The Anti-Corruption Act imposes a minimum 10 year prison sentence for bribing officials to undermine their duties, and a minimum five years for seeking unlawful gains.

A conviction under this Act would be a significant setback for the TPP, Taiwan's third-largest political party.

Ko, who won 26 percent of the vote in the January presidential candidate election for the party, is also facing a separate criminal investigation related to campaign finance reporting discrepancies.

Agencies