The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered that former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and his three codefendants be returned to detention, after the High Court revoked a bail ruling from the lower court for the second time.
Ko, who has been indicted on corruption and other charges, was last week granted bail of NT$30 million (US$912,742) by the Taipei District Court.
However, the High Court on Sunday overruled the decision, citing concerns about witness tampering and collusion.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Later on Sunday, the Taipei District Court increased Ko’s bail to NT$70 million with the condition that he wear an ankle monitor, but the High Court on Wednesday evening again ordered a retrial.
The court last night also ruled that Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), Core Pacific Group founder Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗), finance chief of Ko’s campaign for last year’s presidential election, are to be detained again pending trial.
The bail amounts do not stop Ko and his codefendants from colluding with each other or with witnesses, the High Court said, highlighting seven alleged 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 codefendants.
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.
It also cited Ko’s “influence” as a concern.
Meanwhile, TPP Acting Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that the High Court’s decision to revoke bail for a second time had caused an “uproar in society.”
Huang also said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had been involved in the court’s decisionmaking.
Huang, named acting chairman of the TPP after Ko stepped down as its leader on Wednesday, told reporters that the court’s actions “fully demonstrated” that “the DPP will not give up until Ko Wen-je is detained.”
“I believe that Ko Wen-je and his legal team will defend his rights until the last moment,” Huang said.
“The first time the High Court revoked the bail ruling, the reason given was that Ko Wen-je was a flight risk,” Huang said. “The second time, the court made a complete 180-degree turn and changed the reason to a risk of collusion of evidence.”
“Is this judicial process really the justice that Taiwanese want?” he asked.
Talking to reporters yesterday morning, TPP Secretary-General Vincent Chou (周榆修) said that 3,000 people had applied to join the party since Wednesday afternoon, when the news of Ko’s resignation as the party’s chairman was announced.
The secretary-general said those new members would not be able to participate in the election of the next formal TPP leader, as the party’s rules require membership for at least four months before being eligible to vote in leadership contests.
Ko on Wednesday expressed hope that a new TPP chairperson would be formally elected before next month, Chou said.
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