Taipei: Real estate mogul Sheen Ching-jing, Chairman of Core Pacific Group, was released Thursday evening on bail of NT$180 million (US$6.13 million) following nearly 11 months in detention facing corruption charges. The Taipei District Court handed down the ruling for Sheen's release on Monday, and he posted the bail on Thursday.

According to Focus Taiwan, Sheen, 77, had been held incommunicado since August 30, 2024, in a corruption case involving former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-che, Taipei City Councilor Ying Hsiao-wei, former head of Ko's mayoral office Lee Wen-tsung, and seven additional defendants. While Lee was also granted bail and posted it on Wednesday, Ko and Ying remain in custody.

The court has imposed restrictions on Sheen and Lee, barring them from leaving the country for the next eight months and mandating electronic monitoring of their whereabouts. They are required to carry mobile phones at all times and report regularly to the court. Additionally, they are prohibited from contacting, harassing, or threatening other suspects or witnesses and are restricted to one residence.

Sheen faces accusations of bribing Ko to manipulate building regulations during Ko's tenure as Taipei mayor, allegedly enabling the real estate tycoon to earn higher profits on a significant development project in Taipei. Prosecutors claim Sheen secured permission for an unusually high floor area ratio (FAR) for the Core Pacific City redevelopment project in Taipei's Songshan District, approved in 2021.

The FAR refers to the ratio of a building's floor area to the size of the lot it occupies. By obtaining a higher FAR, Sheen's Core Pacific Group could construct larger structures than previously permitted by law, thereby increasing the project's profitability, prosecutors assert.