Tsai Chin-wen detained for questioning in TDC scandal

The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered the detention of the Waterland Securities Co (國票證券) board director, who is accused of playing a key role in the insider trading scandal involving President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) in-laws.

"Waterland Securities Co board director Tsai Chin-wen (蔡清文) is one of the key suspects in the investigation of possible insider trading regarding the disposal of Taiwan Development Corp (TDC) shares by the state-controlled Chang Hwa Commercial Bank. As a result, prosecutors decided to apply to have him detained," Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang(林邦樑) said.

Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), the president's son-in-law, said that his mother, Chien Shui-mien (簡水綿), bought TDC shares at the suggestion of Tsai.

Taipei prosecutors also summoned businessman Yu Shih-yi (游世一) for questioning. Yu is one of three people who bought a huge number of TDC stocks released by Chang Hwa bank after twice dining with officials from both companies.

Questioning was still proceeding at the time of going to press.

Lin declined to comment on whether or not the prosecutors would summon Chao and his family for questioning. The members of the family are the only ones known to be involved in the scandal who have not yet been questioned.

TDC chairman Su Teh-jien (蘇德建), Chang Hwa chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣) and president Chen Chen-chao (陳辰昭) have all been questioned.

Prosecutors have learned that Su, Chang and Chen dined with Chao, Tsai, and Yu at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei on two separate occasions last summer. Officials suspect that the group discussed the trading of TDC shares on both occasions.

Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday appealed to the public to treat Chao Chien-ming fairly amid growing pressure for the Chao family to respond to the accusations.

Lu said Chao, currently an orthopedist at the National Taiwan University Hospital, was "too young and too naive to deal with bad things and bad guys."

The vice president said she believed that Chao had already done much soul-searching about the whole incident, and called for the country to leave the case to the legal authorities to handle so that "no innocent people are implicated and no wrongdoers are acquitted."

Lu said she was worried that Chao's wife -- President Chen's daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) -- has been negatively affected by the whole incident.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) had suggested that Chen Hsing-yu should temporarily move out of her home with Chao and relocate to the presidential residence.

As Chen Hsing-yu is seven-months' pregnant with her third baby, Wu has expressed concern that the scandal could effect Chen's health, Yeh said. Yeh added that reporters who stationed themselves constantly outside Chao's residence were not helping to reduce the pressure on Chen Hsing-yu.

"Both [the president and Wu]are furious about [the scandal] and have given Chao a lecture about his conduct ... As it appeared that Chen Hsing-yu was even more upset by the incident [than her parents], the president and Wu are concerned that her health might be affected. They have tried to comfort her and tell her not to be too upset," Yeh said.

Yeh was also quoted by the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) in a report yesterday as saying that that Wu had complained that she would not have allowed her daughter to marry Chao if she had known the character of his family.