The Taipei District Court ruled on Thursday that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je should be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption during his tenure as Mayor of Taipei. The decision comes as a reversal of an earlier ruling that saw Ko released on Monday. Ko, who also served as the party’s nominee for the 2024 Taipei election, is currently facing charges related to a property development graft.
Ko’s tenure as mayor from 2012 to 2022 has been under scrutiny, with allegations that he and others, including Core Pacific Group Chairman Sheen Ching-jing, were involved in bribery and corruption. Sheen is alleged to have bribed Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-Wei with nearly 48 million New Taipei dollars to lobby for favorable changes in the floor area ratio of Core Pacific City, a portion of which was reportedly given to Ko. Reports surrounding the case highlight that Ying and his assistant Wu Shun-min are also detained and incommunicado.
Ko has publicly denied the allegations, describing the searches of his home, office, and party headquarters as unprecedented. The Anti-Corruption Act of Taiwan specifies severe penalties for bribery and seeking unlawful gains, which could mean a decade or more in prison for Ko if convicted. Meanwhile, the TPP finds itself tangled in a separate investigation concerning campaign finance issues, adding to the legal turmoil.
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