Lawyers want Taipei's former Deputy Mayor Pong Cheng-sheng released from detention amid a corruption case that's shaken Taiwan. Meanwhile, prosecutors appeal to have the city's former Mayor Ko Wen-je arrested a second time in connection with the same case.
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00:00Police surround Taipei's former deputy mayor Peng Zhongsheng, held as a suspect in a corruption scandal that's shaken Taiwan's political world.
00:07Peng's lawyers are hoping to end his detention, and they're using the same defense that secured the release of former mayor Ko Wenzhe,
00:13the alleged co-conspirator whose political stature has raised this local affair into a national one.
00:19They say that like Ko, Peng knew nothing about a deal to give the owners of a shopping mall city permission to vastly expand their
00:26floor area and their profits.
00:28Peng had chaired the city's planning commission, but his lawyers say his expertise isn't in matters like changing building blueprints.
00:43But even if this argument convinces the court, it doesn't mean Peng will stay free.
00:48His former boss Ko Wenzhe was released without bail, but Ko now faces a second arrest after prosecutors appealed that decision.
00:55Ko is the leader of Taiwan's third largest party, the Taiwan People's Party, which he founded and represented as presidential candidate in January.
01:03With the backing of his party, he's attacked the investigation, and his main political rival, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party,
01:09which he says is behind it.
01:11As the legal back-and-forth over arrests and detentions continues, the question at the core of the case, who knew what, remains unanswered,
01:18meaning this scandal won't be resolved any time soon.
01:22Kama Hsu and John Ventriast for Taiwan Plus.