Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has railed against Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling that he and his wife should spend at least 11 years in prison — calling it “political murder” and suggesting that the verdict was unconstitutional, close supporter Ellen Huang (黃越綏) said yesterday.
Huang, a one-time national policy advisor, visited the former president at the Taipei Detention Center yesterday.
During the meeting, Chen expressed frustration at the ruling, which cannot be appealed, saying that it was unexpected and unfair, Huang said.
“Chen believes that the ruling was in violation of the Constitution and a kind of political murder,” Huang said, describing a conversation that was also attended by office secretary Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘).
“Chen thinks that the main reason was because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party want him dead,” Huang said.
In an unexpected decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled both Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were guilty of accepting bribes in a land purchase scandal and facilitating a financial appointment, sentencing the couple to 11 years and eight years in prison respectively.
The court added that the first couple would have to pay a fine of NT$150 million (US$5 million) each and it also turned three other cases — charges in another land purchase deal, money laundering and the embezzlement of secret diplomatic funds — back to a lower court for a retrial.
Huang said Chen believes the latest ruling is political retribution and that he said: “History will change and there will not be a -political party that lasts forever.”
Huang added that the former president would “continue to wait in the shadows” and that he hasn’t given up hope.
Meanwhile, prison officials at the Taipei Detention Center, where Chen has been incarcerated for more than 700 days, were quoted by Central News Agency as saying yesterday that while it was impossible to tell how Chen was feeling, the former president was eating and drinking normally. Chen, who likely learned of the latest ruling on television, declined to go outside for his daily exercise, they said.
While Chen could be transferred to Taipei Prison following confirmation of whether his sentences would be served consecutively or concurrently, it is currently unclear where Wu, paralyzed below the waist, could be detained.
Under the Prison Act (監獄行刑法), prosecutors have discretion on where to hold elderly and disabled prisoners.
Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) said yesterday that currently both the Taichung Prison and the Kaohsiung Prison are equipped with medical facilities. Prosecutors would make the final call on Wu, Tseng said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LIN LIANG-CHEN
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS