Previous Taipei city chairman, Ko Wen-je, has been entangled in various embarrassments as of late
December 26, 2024
Taiwan investigators on Thursday arraigned an ex-city chairman of Taipei and previous official up-and-comer on charges of defilement and abusing political gifts and said they were looking for 28 years' prison for him.
Ko Wen-je, head of the Taiwan Public's Party (TPP), ran as an outsider up-and-comer in January's official political decision and won about a fourth of the vote.
However, he has been entangled in various embarrassments as of late, including a defilement case including a property improvement that purportedly happened during his subsequent term as Taipei's city hall leader from 2018 to 2022.
Ko was arraigned Thursday in the property case as well as on abusing gifts for the TPP and a cause establishment, and break of trust, the Taipei locale examiners' office said.
Examiners said they were looking for a joined prison term of 28 years and a half year for Ko, who has been confined since September during an examination.
The property outrage concerns Center Pacific City, a redevelopment project that saw its floor region proportion significantly expanded — finished with the regional government's endorsement which purportedly helped engineer Sheen Ching-jing.
"Ko by and by got NT$15 million as pay off cash" given by Sheen in 2022 and took one more NT$2.1 million from his organization, vice president examiner Kao I-shu told columnists.
Sheen had purportedly gotten unlawful advantages of more than NT$20 billion in the Center Pacific City project, a court recently said while requesting Ko's detainment.
"Ko was found with destroyed notes in his office during the examination, with directions for assistants to escape the country," Kao said.
"His post-offense mentality was additionally considered poor."
Examiners likewise accused Ko of stealing and co-stealing more than NT$60 million of political gifts made to his party in two cases and abusing around NT$8.27 million in gifts for a social government assistance starting point for his official mission.
Ko has over and over denied all bad behavior in the property case.
In any case, he has apologized to his adherents after claims of distorting of his mission finances utilized during his official run surfaced.
Huang Kuo-chang, a senior TPP official and top of the party's regulative council, attacked the prosecution, which he depicted as "politically spurred" and "a political feud".
"The arraignment depended on obscure phrasing, blaming Ko for pay off without introducing substantial proof," he told correspondents.
Huang likewise demanded "not a solitary dollar from the political gifts account went into Ko Wen-je's pocket".
Ko has taken individual leave from the party's position of authority since September and offered his renunciation as executive in a letter sent from jail recently.
Gotten some information about the letter at a news meeting on Thursday, the TPP said wouldn't choose another director.
During January's political race, the TPP won eight seats in Taiwan's bad tempered parliament, getting it kingmaker status in the lawmaking body.
