Prosecutors in Taiwan have arrested the leader of Taiwan’s third-largest political party for alleged corruption involving a shopping center project.
Taiwanese media say Ko Wen-je, the chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, or TPP, is suspected of having illegally increased the floor area ratio of the shopping center at the request of a developer in 2020 when he was the mayor of the capital Taipei.
Prosecutors searched Ko’s home and the TPP’s headquarters on Friday while questioning the party leader.
They arrested Ko early Saturday morning after he refused to continue any further interrogation.
Ko’s lawyer reportedly plans to submit a request to a court for a probe into his arrest for any legal issues with the procedure.
The arrest came two days after Ko announced a three-month leave of absence. He is accused of misreporting political donations during the Taiwan presidential race in January.
Ko has garnered support from people who are discontent with the two major parties — the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the largest opposition Kuomintang.