TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei District Court on Thursday reviewed interrogation videos of former Taipei Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) in the ongoing bribery case involving former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
Prosecutors have accused Ko of accepting bribes from Core Pacific Chair Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) in exchange for favorable adjustments to the floor-area ratio of a Core Pacific development project, per Tai Sounds. While Pong has already confessed to involvement, Ko’s legal team is challenging the circumstances under which Pong admitted guilt.
The court examined video recordings from Pong’s interrogations on Sept. 3 and 4, 2024. Defense attorney Hsiao I-hung (蕭奕弘) questioned why Pong, who initially maintained his innocence, reversed his stance and confessed shortly after a brief conversation with his lawyer.
Hsiao pointed to a moment in the footage when Pong asked his attorney, “What part am I supposed to reconsider?” The lawyer said this suggested that the confession was coerced or obtained under duress.
Hsiao further implied that prosecutors may have offered Pong undisclosed incentives in exchange for his cooperation.
Prosecutor Liao Yen-chun (廖彥鈞) rejected the allegation, noting Pong confessed only after consulting his lawyer, and said the defense had presented no evidence of impropriety, per Liberty Times. Prosecutor Chiang Chang-chi (姜長志) said Pong had the legal right to become a state witness and seek a reduced sentence.
Chiang added that the Supreme Court has affirmed that a failure to ask defendants about their intent to confess could deny them a chance at leniency.
Another dispute centered on the language used during the interrogation, per Newtalk. Defense attorney Hsu Lu-ping (徐履冰) criticized Prosecutor Lin Chun-yen (林俊言) for using Taiwanese rather than Mandarin during questioning, citing legal requirements for standardized language use.
Chiang responded that Taiwanese was Pong’s native language, and using it was intended to make Pong more comfortable. Chiang also accused the defense of harboring bias against local dialects.
