Ex-Taipei Mayor arrested in corruption probe

A former Taiwan presidential candidate was arrested Saturday after he was questioned over his alleged role in a property scandal that occurred when he was mayor of Taipei.

Ko Wen-je, a former surgeon-turned-politician and leader of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), ran as a third-party presidential candidate, securing about a quarter of votes in the island’s January election.

But he has been recently embroiled in a corruption scandal involving a property development that allegedly occurred while he was Taipei’s mayor from 2014 to 2022.

Ko was taken in for questioning on Friday after investigators raided his home.

The interrogation took 19 hours, said TPP in a statement, adding that “in order to continue to restrict chairman Ko’s personal freedom, prosecutors ordered him to be arrested at about 2 am” on Saturday (6:00 pm GMT Friday).

His lawyer requested that the legality of his arrest be reviewed, but the petition was “rejected” by the Taipei District Court, TPP said in a second statement.

“We respect the ruling of the Taipei District Court and support chairman Ko’s right to seek relief according to law,” the party added.

Ko has denied all wrongdoing, but on Thursday announced he was taking personal leave for three months from the party’s leadership role.

During the January election, TPP garnered eight seats in Taiwan’s fractious parliament, securing it a kingmaker status in the legislature.

Neither the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) nor Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition group, won enough seats for a clear majority.

Earlier this year, TPP and KMT passed controversial reforms that sought to expand the parliament’s powers, with proponents arguing it was needed to curb corruption.

The reforms — opposed by DPP — are currently being reviewed by Taiwan’s constitutional court.

AFP

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