TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A Taipei court Thursday (Sept. 4) delayed a crucial decision on whether to extend detention for former Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei (應曉薇) in a high-profile corruption case. The Taipei District Court (台北地方法院) interrogated both defendants but did not immediately rule, keeping them in detention until an Oct. 1 deadline. The decision will determine whether the prominent political figures remain jailed or receive bail in the Core Pacific City development scandal.
Ko and Ying have been held incommunicado for nearly a year in connection with the Core Pacific City scandal (京華城案), a major real estate development controversy. Prosecutors indicted them and transferred the case to the Taipei District Court on Dec. 26 last year, but the court revoked two previous bail decisions. Thursday's hearing marked the fifth detention extension review, with the current detention period running from Aug. 2 to Oct. 1.
Taiwan's Criminal Speedy Trial Act (刑事妥速審判法) limits each detention extension for serious offenses to two months, with a maximum 15-month detention period during first trial proceedings. Ko faces charges under the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), which qualifies as a serious offense under these regulations. A prison van returned Ko and Ying to the detention center at 2:10 p.m., with Ko's wife, Chen Pei-chi (陳佩琪), watching from an alley on Chongqing South Road. ◼
