TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Core Pacific Chair Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) has been unable to find a guarantor, explaining why he has not been released even though the Taipei District Court set bail last week, reports said Tuesday.

On July 11, the court decided the tycoon could be freed if he paid NT$100 million (US$3.41 million) and if he found a guarantor financially able to underwrite NT$200 million. However, his attorneys said the latter task had been difficult due to the political nature of his case, the Liberty Times reported.

Sheen allegedly paid bribes to former Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in return for the expansion of the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City project under construction in the capital. The tycoon’s attorneys reportedly submitted two names to the court as potential guarantors, but there were doubts they qualified financially.

As a result, the court agreed with a request from the attorneys that the name of any guarantor should not be made public. However, judges rejected a demand to keep the name secret from the prosecutors as well.

If freed on bail, Sheen will have to wear an ankle monitor. He initially objected, saying the item might interfere with medical equipment during surgery. 

The Core Pacific chief has been staying at National Taiwan University Hospital for treatment of a renal fungal infection. After his release, he will also have to stay at a fixed address in Taipei’s Daan District, and will be barred from leaving the country or sailing out to sea for eight months.