Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) and Core Pacific Group Chair Shen Ching-ching (沈慶京) have been denied bail as prosecutors investigate corruption.
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Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) was calm and even thanked reporters as she was transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Wednesday evening. But the situation took a turn when prosecutors filed a request for her detention in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Core Pacific Group Chair Shen Ching-ching (沈慶京) was also interrogated overnight and faced the same request for detention. Both have been denied visitation rights.
Prosecutors are currently investigating Ying and Shen, among others, in a corruption case. Shen allegedly funneled NT$45 million (US$1.45 million) in bribes to Ying between 2018 and 2020 in exchange for Ying's efforts to push for a relaxation of the floor area ratio (FAR) of the Core Pacific City mall project.
Ying also reportedly met with Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on three occasions while he was Taipei Mayor, potentially to discuss incentives for the project. Both Shen and Ying have denied wrongdoing.
Core Pacific City Chair Chen Yu-kun (陳玉坤) Ying's office executive director Wang Tsun-kan (王尊侃), and assistants Wu Shun-min (吳順民) and Chen Chia-min (陳佳敏) were also questioned. Chen Yu-kun was released on NT$12 million (US$375,000) bail, Wang NT$5 million (US$156,000), and Chen Chia-min on NT$2 million (US$62,000), while Wu was detained and denied visitation.
Prosecutors are now investigating whether any portion of the NT$45 million might have made it to Ko or members of the Urban Planning Review Committee, making this the key focus of their ongoing investigation.