New taipei city: A senior New Taipei City police official has been ordered detained and held incommunicado, while three other officers were released on bail as they are investigated for accepting bribes and leaking information to gangsters, authorities said Wednesday. The New Taipei District Prosecutors directed a wave of searches on Tuesday, bringing the acting deputy commander of the New Taipei Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID), surnamed Cheng, back for questioning.

According to Focus Taiwan, also taken for questioning were a CID detective surnamed Chao, a former CID detective sergeant, now with the department’s Jinshan Precinct, surnamed Wang, and a detective sergeant in the Zhonghe Precinct surnamed Chang, prosecutors said. The four officers are suspected of attending a banquet with gangsters in 2023, where they are believed to have leaked information on the progress of ongoing investigations, law enforcement sources said.

Following overnight questioning, a New Taipei court on Wednesday approved a request by prosecutors to hold Cheng in incommunicado detention, given that he is suspected of taking bribes and the risk of collusion. The court also approved bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,807), NT$100,000 and NT$50,000 for Chang, Wang and Chao, respectively, and banned them from leaving the country, as the group are investigated for violations of the Anti-Corruption Act and disclosing classified information by government officials.