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Taiwan Quick Take

■ Crime
Hu Gua innocent of cheating
Entertainer Hu Gua (胡瓜) was yesterday found innocent of cheating fellow mahjong gamblers with the help of hidden cameras. However, the Taipei District Court ruled that Hu's brother and two friends were guilty of fraud in the same case. Hu's brother, Hu Chi-hsuan (胡技烜), was sentenced to two years, four months in jail. Two of his friends, Tien Shu-ling (田淑玲) and Hsu Chih-huang (許志煌), were sentenced to 22 months and 18 months respectively. Prosecutors said Hsu watched cameras in an adjacent room and told the entertainer's brother over a radio device about his competitors' mahjong positions, helping him win.

■ Crime
First lady not going to court
First lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) will not appear in court today, the Presidential Office said yesterday, adding that her lawyer had filed for a leave of absence on her behalf, citing health reasons. Wu pleaded not guilty to charges that she misappropriated NT$14.8 million (US$454,000) from the president's "state affairs fund." She was rushed to hospital after almost fainting during a court recess on Dec. 15. On medical advice, she did not attend the second and third sessions of the trial on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29. Wu was released from hospital on Dec. 31.

■ Defense
Arms bill receives boost
Lawmakers across party lines yesterday passed an initial approval of the long-stalled arms procurement. As they have yet to reach consensus in the committee stage regarding its content, it will now be sent for cross-party discussion rather than to the floor for second reading. As lawmakers have decided to go into recess on Jan. 20 and bills are not allowed to be scheduled for a vote on the floor during the four-month negotiation phrase, the bill is unlikely to be passed during this legislative session. The bill calls for a NT$6.27 billion (US$192 million) supplemental budget to help fund the purchase of P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, the upgrading of PAC-2 anti-missile batteries and the design of submarines, as well as NT$700 million to build an airstrip on Tai-ping Island (太平島).

■ Society
Billiards star `punished'
Billiards star Jennifer Chen (陳純甄) will be warning sports fans not to gamble illegally as part of a deal she reached with prosecutors. Chen was linked to a professional baseball gambling scandal last year and did not return to Taiwan until Monday, when she met with prosecutors. The prosecutors decided to suspend Chen's charges, saying that she had no prior record and cooperated fully with their investigations. However, she will have to post two anti-gambling articles of at least 100 Chinese characters five days a week under her own name on two Internet sports forums for two months.

■ Crime
Heist suspect nabbed in PRC
The Criminal of Investigation Bureau yesterday confirmed that the suspect in the nation's biggest cash heist was captured in China's Yunnan Province, on Wednesday night. The suspect, Lee Han-yang (李漢揚), a former police officer who worked for security company Group 4 Securicor-Taiwan, allegedly stole NT$56 million (US$1.72 million) from his vehicle in Taipei on Jan. 2 before fleeing to China with his brother Lee Chin-tsan (李金瓚), also a former police officer. Authorities arrested the pair in Kunming, along with two alleged accomplices, but did not find the cash, according to the bureau.

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