Former Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan has arrived in Taoyuan District Court for his third bail hearing amid allegations of corruption from when he served as the city's mayor. The High Court has twice revoked his release, saying the possibility of collusion has not been resolved.
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00:00We start with former Vice-Premier Zhang Wenzhan back at a district court after his bail was
00:06revoked a second time.
00:08The politician from the ruling DPP is accused of corruption during his role as Mayor of
00:14Taoyuan City from 2014 to 2022.
00:18Joyce Sung is live for us at the courthouse in Taoyuan with the latest.
00:23Joyce, what are we expecting to happen today?
00:27Well, you just about missed him, Louise.
00:31Moments ago, former Vice-Premier Zhang Wenzhan arrived here at the Taoyuan District Court.
00:36This is the third bail hearing for the well-known politician amid an investigation into whether
00:41he took bribes while he was Taoyuan Mayor.
00:44Now, today with tighter security, Zhang and his lawyers walked swiftly past media and
00:49into the hearing room.
00:51Just two days ago, Zhang left this courthouse after being granted bail of over $360,000.
00:58That's more than double the amount of the first bail sum that he paid on Sunday.
01:03And with each release so far, the prosecutors have successfully gotten the high court to
01:08overturn these decisions.
01:10The high court says that questions still remain unanswered as to why the lower court have
01:15allowed bail, especially given that there is the possibility of collusion between Zhang
01:20and other suspects, especially given Zhang's influence in city government.
01:26And Joyce, what is the district court's position so far?
01:30What are the chances it will grant Zhang bail again?
01:35After releasing Zhang on Tuesday, the court said that it found no evidence to justify
01:40detaining him.
01:41They also doubted whether he still had influence in city government and dismissed concerns
01:48about collusion.
01:50They said that the only other person related to the case who has been granted bail is a
01:5490-year-old suspect.
01:57Others are still in custody, signaling that the court thought that the chances of collusion
02:03are low.
02:04Now, this is turning into a battle of wills between the prosecutors and the district court.
02:09When given that without new evidence before the trial begins, this back and forth can
02:16keep going.
02:17This current record for such a situation is five rulings and five appeals.
02:23Ten years ago, a man rammed his truck into the presidential office gate.
02:27And after five rounds of hearings, he was finally released on bail.
02:32As for Zhang, the big question here today is whether he will get his third release on
02:36bail and at what price.
02:38Louise?