TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei District Court agreed on Friday to temporarily lift the ban on visitors for former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
The decision will allow Ko to receive visits from four family members from Friday, Feb. 27 to March 10, reported UDN. The decision comes after the recent death of Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), who passed away on Feb. 17.
On Thursday, Ko’s lawyers filed a request with the court claiming there was no longer any reason to deny Ko visitors while in detention. Ko argued that after the death of his father, he would need to be involved with the family’s funeral arrangements.
A hearing was held on Friday afternoon to hear oral arguments from Ko, his family members, lawyers, and prosecutors.
The court agreed to temporarily lift the ban on visitation until the funeral of his father is held. The ruling only allows for visits from Ko’s mother He Rui-ying (何瑞英), his wife Chen Pei-chi (陳佩琪), sister Ko Mei-lan (柯美蘭), and his younger brother Ko Yu-chien (柯宇謙), reported LTN.
The court will reimpose the ban on visitors after the funeral scheduled for March 10. However, the court’s decision may be appealed.
Ko is being held at a detention as prosecutors prepare to bring him to trial for corruption, related to corruption and the Core City Pacific property. The first hearing in Ko’s trial is expected to be held on March 20.
