The Taipei District Court will hold a new detention hearing for former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) today at 6pm after the High Court again revoked another bail ruling from the lower court.
Ko went to Hsinchu to visit his father in a hospital this morning and nodded when asked whether he had to hurry back to Taipei.
All defendants had to report to the court by 11am today.
Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times
Ko, currently indicted on corruption charges, was initially granted NT$30 million (US$915,425) bail last week by the Taipei District Court, but on Sunday the High Court overruled the lower court’s decision citing concerns about witness tampering. Ko resigned yesterday as the chairperson of the opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which he founded.
On Sunday, the Taipei District Court increased Ko’s bail to NT$70 million with the condition that he wear an ankle monitor, which was rescinded yesterday by the High Court.
Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) and Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京), founder and chairman of the real estate conglomerate Core Pacific Group, and Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), finance chief of Ko's 2024 election campaign, also had their bail agreements revoked.
The bail amounts do not stop Ko and his co-defendants from colluding with each other or with witnesses, the High Court said, highlighting seven instances of tampering by Ko and the other defendants.
Their statements are not consistent with each other's or that of other witnesses leaving space for collusion, the High Court said, adding that Lee had told his sister to shred relevant documents and Ying had deleted call records between herself and her co-defendants.
The High Court also said the bail ruling was overly vague and the court’s no-contact order did not have a clear way of being enforced.
The High Court also cited Ko’s “influence” as a concern.
Revoking Ko’s bail has led to public outcry, Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), TPP acting chairman, said, adding that the party will establish a working group on judicial oversight to prevent political interference.
Ko is innocent and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is engaging in a political hunt, Huang told journalists.
The first decision to revoke Ko's bail cited his risk of escape, which resulted in a higher bail amount and an electronic monitor being required, but the second decision cited a completely different reason, Huang said.
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