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KMT files suit against Chen over Taipei fund

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday filed a corruption suit against President Chen Shui-bian (��阨晦), accusing him of using public funds to pay for his personal gas, water and electricity bills during his four-year tenure as Taipei mayor from 1994 to 1998.

KMT legislators then went to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and asked Public Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (����隴) to appoint Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (綜����) to investigate the allegation and to follow the same standard he used in investigating KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (醪荎嬝).

Hou indicted Ma in February on suspicion of embezzlement for wiring half of his monthly mayoral special allowance fund into his personal bank account while he was Taipei mayor from 1998 until last year.

Chen Tsung-ming last Tuesday convened a meeting with the country's chief prosecutors at which they discussed the nature of the special fund, but failed to form a common legal position on the issue.

The meeting came in the wake of two cases求former Tainan deputy mayor Hsu Yang-ming (偝��隴) whom was indicted on suspicion of embezzling municipal funds and DPP Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (偝氝��), whom was not indicted by prosecutors in the same case.

"To avoid a situation in which each prosecutor has his or her own perspective on the nature of the special allowance fund, Hou should be asked to handle the president's case," KMT legislative caucus whip Alex Fai (愐��怍) said.

KMT Legislator Pan Wei-kang (攣鋤��) said that documents issued by the Taipei City Government's accounting department showed that Chen had used NT$404,761 (US$12,150) to pay the utility bills at his residence on Minsheng E Road during his four years as mayor.

Chen Yun-nan (����鰍), spokesman for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and its special investigation panel, said yesterday that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office assigned cases to prosecutors based on a rotation system.

The accuser has no right to appoint prosecutors, Chen Yun-nan said.

Prominent figures

Recent cases involving four prominent DPP figures -- Vice President Annette Lu (�恦蓖�), former premier Su Tseng-chang (妶��荻), former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun and former premier Frank Hsieh (珴墿祂) -- had been assigned to three different prosecutors on the special investigation panel: prosecutors Hou, Shen Ming-lun (朻隴��) and Chou Shih-yu (笚尪衼).

The Presidential Office yesterday responded by condemning the KMT legislative caucus, saying its allegation against President Chen was groundless.

In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, the Presidential Office expressed regret over the allegation, which it dismissed as "fictitious" and "misleading popular opinion."

"The KMT is using an old case as a diversion," the statement read. "We disdain and condemn such a baseless accusation."

The statement said that Chen Shui-bian had used the fund in strict accordance with the law.

As for the portion of the fund that does not require receipts, the president had used it only for public purposes and did not transfer the money to his personal account, the statement said.

There was no misuse of the fund whatsoever, the statement said.

Additional reporting by Rich Chang and Ko Shu-ling
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