Taipei: The Taipei District Court ruled on Thursday that Ko Wen-je, the former Taiwan People's Party (TPP) leader who is currently detained on corruption charges, may contact family members until March 10 on compassionate grounds. The ruling came into effect on the same day.
According to Focus Taiwan, Ko had requested on Wednesday that his visitation ban be lifted in order for him to deal with matters relating to his father's funeral, which is scheduled for March 10, prosecutors said. The former leader of Taiwan's third-biggest political party has been held incommunicado in criminal detention since early January following his indictment in late December for bribery, embezzlement, and breach of public trust offenses dating back to his second term as mayor of Taipei from 2018 to 2022 and around the 2024 presidential election.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Ko's wife Chen Pei-chi expressed gratitude to the judge for understanding their family's situation. Both Chen and Ko's mother, Ho Jui-ying, were summoned to provide evidence to the court on Thursday in relation to Ko's request that he be allowed to meet and communicate with his wife and other close relatives to discuss funeral arrangements.
Ko's father, Ko Cheng-fa, 92, died on Feb. 17. He had been critically ill and hospitalized at National Taiwan University Hospital's Hsinchu branch in the weeks prior to his passing.