Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je was released from detention after an order from the Taipei District Court, due to lack of evidence. As reported by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), the court declared that Ko should be released from custody without bail.

Ko, a member of the Taiwan People’s Party who garnered significant support as a third-party candidate in Taiwan’s recent presidential election, was arrested on August 31 on charges of corruption. His arrest concerned the illegal increase of the floor area ratio of the city’s Core Pacific City Development Project. After an overnight session of interrogation, Ko refused to continue, prompting prosecutors to detain him. The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office cited concerns of potential collusion as the reason for the arrest. The court highlighted that to establish grounds for his detention, it needed to be demonstrated that Ko knew his decisions were illegal and benefited the developers, which the investigators failed to do. Ko has stated that he had no knowledge of the increase until March.

Former Deputy Mayor Peng Zhengsheng, however, was ordered to be detained. The court observed that there was adequate evidence to show that Zhengsheng was involved in the incident, and had profited from corruption, violating the Anti-Corruption Act. He was also found to have connections to several private parties also suspected of being involved in the affair. Zhengsheng was ordered to be held incommunicado.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has stated that they will be filing an appeal against the judgement. Ko maintains that he is innocent, and has received support from his People Party, which criticized Ko’s arrest as illegal.