Prosecutors yesterday added charges to those already laid against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), who face charges of corruption, forgery and embezzlement.
With the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) concluding the second part of its investigation, prosecutors charged Chen and his wife with taking bribes, profiteering and violating the Political Donation Act (政治獻金法), SIP spokesperson Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said.
Prosecutors did not recommend specific sentences.
The indictment charged Chen Shui-bian and his wife with taking NT$10 million (US$300,000) in bribes from former Taipei Financial Center Corp chairwoman Diana Chen (陳敏薰).
Prosecutors allege that Diana Chen gave the former first lady NT$10 million in exchange for her seat as president of Grand Cathay Securities Corp (大華證券).
While both Wu and Diana Chen admitted to the cash transaction, both denied it was bribery and said the money was a form of “political donation.”
The indictment also accused the former president and his wife of inappropriately taking NT$300 million in political donations from former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒).
Prosecutors allege the former president used election campaign funds and secret foreign relations as excuses to ask Koo for donations, which the former president and his wife then pocketed.
Koo previously testified in court that the money he gave to the former president and his wife were “reluctant contributions.”
As Koo donated the money under pressure, he was “a victim” and prosecutors decided not to indict him, Chen Yun-nan said.
Asked whether prosecutors had chosen to indict the former first couple two days before Chen Shui-bian’s detention hearing to ensure the former president remains in jail, Chen Yun-nan said: “This is unrelated to the case.”
Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) has scheduled a hearing tomorrow to decide if Chen Shui-bian should remain incarcerated. Prosecutors argue it is necessary for the former president to remain in jail to prevent him from colluding with witnesses or absconding.
“The reasons for detention have not changed,” Chen Yun-nan said.
On Dec. 12, the SIP completed its first round of investigations and charged Chen Shui-bian with pocketing about NT$1.5 billion, including a bribe of US$9 million in a land deal and money from his presidential “state affairs fund.” He was also charged with money laundering, corruption and forgery.
In response to the new charges, Chen Shui-bian’s office secretary Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘) said the judiciary continued to persecute the former president without providing solid evidence, adding that politics were getting mixed with the investigation.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS