Taipei Prosecutors Appeal Verdict in Jinghua City and Ko Wen-je Political Donation Cases

(CNA reporter Lin Chang-shun, Taipei, 30th) Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je was implicated in the Jinghua City case and a political donation case. The Taipei District Court ruled in March, finding Ko Wen-je guilty of receiving bribes in violation of official duties under the Anti-Corruption Act, and of public embezzlement and breach of trust under the Criminal Code, sentencing him to a total of 17 years in prison. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office today filed an appeal. The Taipei District Court heard the Jinghua City case and Ko Wen-je's political donation case, and on March 26, sentenced Ko Wen-je to 13 years in prison and deprived him of his civil rights for 6 years for violating official duties by receiving bribes under the Anti-Corruption Act; for public embezzlement, he was sentenced to 2 years and 3 years 6 months respectively; and for jointly committing breach of trust, he was sentenced to 2 years 6 months in prison. The four charges resulted in a total sentence of 17 years in prison and deprivation of civil rights for 6 years. Additionally, regarding the accusation that Ko Wen-je received a NT$15 million bribe from Wei-ching Group Chairman Shen Qing-jing, the Taipei District Court found that the prosecutor's evidence had not reached the degree of certainty where a normal person would have no doubt and could be convinced of its truthfulness, therefore no separate verdict of not guilty was issued. (Editor: Li Shu-hua) 1150430