The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and the Agency Against Corruption taskforce yesterday morning requested the Taipei District Court to detain chief financial officer of the Taiwan People’s Party’s presidential campaign Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) and former Dingyue Development Corp (鼎越開發) president Chu Yea-hu (朱亞虎) for alleged involvement in the Core Pacific City case.
The court held a detention hearing at 6:50pm yesterday, which was ongoing at press time last night.
Prosecutors said they filed a request to detain the two suspects after questioning them on Friday, as they were suspected to be heavily involved in the case and allegedly violated the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
Photo: Taipei Times file
The two were among 10 defendants accused of corruption, allegedly giving preferential treatment to Core Pacific City Co during the tenure of then-Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and raising the floor area ratio (FAR) of the redevelopment project in 2020 to boost the value of the property.
Lee was Ko’s high-school classmate, served as his campaign office’s financial manager and was formerly the director-general of the Taipei mayor’s office, the taskforce said.
The taskforce said it suspected Lee was in the know and might have played a pivotal role in the scandal regarding Ko’s unreported political donations from his presidential bid earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, Chu is suspected of being an intermediary between Core Pacific and the Taipei City Government, and allegedly handled the funds used for bribery.
Other defendants include Core Pacific supervisor Chang Chih-cheng (張志澄) and Core Pacific Group legal affairs manager Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源), who have been allowed to post bail for NT$2.5 million (US$78,894) and NT$1.5 million respectively. Former news anchor Tung Chung-pai (童中白), former Core Pacific Rental manager Hung Hsiu-feng (洪秀鳳) and supervisor Fan Ya-chi (范雅琪) have been released without bail.
Witnesses included Ko’s former bodyguard Chen Wen-chung (陳文鐘), Ko’s former itinerary secretary Huang Hsin-hsiang (黃心緗), former secretary Huang Chieh-ying (黃婕穎) and Lin Ting-feng (林鼎峰). They have been released without bail.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated