(Bloomberg) -- Ko Wen-je, former leader of Taiwan’s opposition party, was arrested after almost 19 hours of interrogation in connection with a property development scandal that occurred while he was mayor of Taipei.
Ko was taken into custody late Friday night due to concerns about possible collusion, after he refused to continue overnight questioning, according to a report by the Central News Agency that cited the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office.
Under Taiwan laws, prosecutors must request a court to detain a suspect or witness within 24 hours of interrogation. Ko requested a judicial review of the arrest, which was declined by the Taipei District Court, CNA said in a separate report.
The Taiwan People’s Party, which was co-founded by Ko in 2019, said in a statement that it respects the court’s decision but supports Ko’s legal right to defend himself.
Ko, a former trauma surgeon and surprisingly popular third-party candidate in the latest Taiwan’s presidential race, garnered almost 27% of the vote in January. He finished behind the eventual winner, President Lai Ching-te, and runner-up Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang.
The arrest of Ko is the latest incident in a series of investigations into Taiwanese politicians for corruption or misconduct since President Lai took office in May this year. In July, former vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan of DPP was detained on corruption charges.
Ko announced on Thursday that he would temporarily step down as chairman of the TPP amid a series of scandals related to the party’s expenses, including the use of election subsidies and political donations.
(Updated with court’s latest decision in third paragraph.)
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