We will make a donation: Chao

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) said yesterday his family would donate part of the profits they made in the stock market to charity groups, but dismissed allegations that these gains were made through insider trading.

Chao said that his mother, Chien Shui-mien (簡水綿), bought shares of Taiwan Development Corp (TDC) stock at the suggestion of Tsai Ching-wen (蔡清文), chairman of Waterland Securities Co.

"It is a simple act of investment, nothing else," Chao told reporters outside his house. "Nobody except a court of law could decide that this was an incidence of insider trading, and I believe the court will prove our innocence."

However, in a bid to allay public suspicion, Chao said that his family decided to contribute part of the profits they made from trading in TDC stocks. He did not, however, specify how much his family would donate, nor whom the recipient would be.

Chao admitted he had lunch with Tsai, TDC chairman Su Teh-jien (蘇德建) and chairman of Chang Hwa Bank Chang Po-Shin (張柏欣) last summer, but said they did not touch on the topic of investing in TDC.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) alleged that four days after the gathering on July 21 last year, Chao bought 20 million shares of TDC stock under the name of his mother and raked in between NT$300 million (US$9.5 million) and NT$400 million.

Chung Hwa Bank confirmed on Monday that Tsai visited the bank on July 22 last year to discuss the purchase of TDC stock. Tsai yesterday complied with a summons from the Taipei Prosecutors' Office.

Chao's father Chao Yu-chu (趙玉柱) yesterday refused to talk to the media, who have been camped outside his house in Tainan County for days.

In a bid to elude members of the media who were following his vehicle, Chao Yu-chu yesterday drove for half an hour, ignored a red traffic light and at one point, in the wrong direction for the lane in which he was traveling. He was finally forced to stop at a dead-end. When approached by the media, he covered his face with a towel and called his friends for help. Two friends arrived about 10 minutes later and guided him out of the alley.

Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang (林邦樑) said prosecutors had summoned Chang Hwa Commercial Bank chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣) and general manager Chen Chen-chao (陳辰昭) to learn whether they dined with Chao Chien-ming and TDC officials at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei last year, and whether they had shared information about TDC stock which might have constituted insider trading.

Lin said Chang and Chen are witnesses in the investigation.

The questioning was still proceeding at press time.

Additional reporting by Rich Chang