Liu said Yu Wen (余文), a former secretary to Ma Ying-jeou during his stint as Taipei mayor, was sentenced to only one year in prison for inappropriately use of Ma Ying-jeou’s special mayoral allowance.
“It is unbelievable that Ma [Yung-cheng] and Lin were given such different treatments because they had different bosses,” Liu said.
Liu said Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun’s (蔡守訓) verdict was biased because of his hostility toward Chen Shui-bian.
“The verdict also marked the beginning of a new KMT autarchy. People who were concerned about the development of democracy in Taiwan should take note,” he said.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the verdict was not convincing because of a flawed trial process. Tsai Shou-hsun, who was also the judge in Ma Ying-jeou’s embezzlement trial, seems to have employed double standards to the two similar cases, she said.
While Chen was sentenced to life in prison, Ma Ying-jeou was found not guilty, the DPP leader said.
“We regret to see the defects and the ruling. We will support former president Chen Shui-bian in his fight for his legal rights as he enters the next stage of legal proceedings,” she said.
However, Tsai said, Chen should be held responsible for some of his actions, which she said were not in line with the DPP’s standards.
DPP Legislator Tsai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), who was in court when the verdict was handed down, said the sentence is too heavy.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said such a heavy sentence must be politically motivated.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟), said: “Chen Shui-bian deserves it. I believe the public will welcome the verdict.”
Lu said Chen should plead guilty and stop using his wife as an excuse.
When asked if he thought the court should consider allowing the former first lady to serve her term at home by wearing electronic foot shackles, Lu said this would be good from a humanitarian perspective.
Meanwhile, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the office respected the ruling and would refrain from commenting on individual cases.
KMT headquarters also declined to comment on the ruling.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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