TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Justice Minister Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) addressed Thursday allegations of improper conduct during an interrogation of Core Pacific Group Chair Shen Ching-jing (沈慶京), pointing to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office’s denial of any misconduct.
In his first court appearance for the Core Pacific corruption case on Tuesday, Shen accused the prosecution of pressuring him to turn against co-defendant former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), per NowNews. Shen claimed that on Oct. 11, Taipei District Prosecutor Lin Chun-yen (林俊言) conducted a two-hour-long interrogation at a Taipei hospital, failing to follow prosecutorial ethics by not recording the session with video and audio.
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office responded on Wednesday, clarifying that Lin and a secretary visited Shen at the hospital due to his health concerns, per Rti. The office emphasized that Shen had requested to make his statement, which was done in the presence of Shen and three lawyers, and the record was subsequently verified.
The Taipei District Prosecutors Office urged defendants to raise concerns about prosecutorial misconduct in court rather than seeking recourse outside of official channels.
KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) questioned Cheng during a Legislative Yuan committee meeting about Shen’s allegations, per CNA. Cheng responded by referring Lo to the Prosecutors Office’s clarification, which prompted frustration from Lo because of the lack of a detailed explanation. This led to a procedural debate during the meeting.
TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) also weighed in, questioning whether the prosecution's hospital visit followed regulations, per ETtoday. He raised concerns about whether the visit was reported to the court and if the prosecution process adhered to the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Huang called for a thorough investigation into Shen’s allegations to maintain public trust in the legal system.
To secure a more favorable floor area ratio for his Core Pacific city development project, Shen allegedly bribed Taipei City officials, including Ko. During the ensuing investigation, Ko resigned as chair of the TPP.
