A court in Taiwan has decided to release the head of Taiwan's third-largest political party two days after he was arrested in connection with a corruption scandal.

The chairman of the Taiwan People's Party, Ko Wen-je, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of illegally increasing the floor area ratio of a shopping center at a developer's request in 2020. Ko was the mayor of Taipei at the time.

On Monday, the district court in Taipei decided to release Ko without bail, citing that prosecutors had provided an insufficient explanation. Prosecutors had requested his further detention.

But the court approved a request to further detain Ko's former deputy in connection with the scandal.

After his release, Ko told his supporters that Taiwan authorities seized his cell phone and fabricated a story. He said their two-day investigation was extremely oppressive and can be called abuse.

Ko's party has rallied support from people who are dissatisfied with the two major parties -- the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the main opposition Kuomintang. But a poll conducted by Taiwan media in August shows likability for the Taiwan People's Party has fallen to the lowest level since its foundation.