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Court sets hearing dates for Lu, Yu and Chen

The trials of Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and two other senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members over the alleged misuse of their "special allowance funds" have been set for next month and early December, the Taipei District Court said yesterday.

Lu's trial is set for Nov. 19, while the trial of former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun is set for Nov. 26 and that of National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) for Dec. 3.

An investigation task force of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office last month announced the completion of an extensive probe into the use of special allowance funds by the three DPP members, as well as that of DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his running mate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).

Lu, Yu and Chen were indicted on charges of forgery and embezzlement for allegedly collecting invoices from others to claim reimbursement from the funds. Hsieh and Su were cleared after a thorough probe, prosecutors said.

The indictment said that from December 2000 to May last year, staff of Lu's office and her bodyguards collected 1,005 invoices amounting to NT$5.63 million (US$172,900) to claim reimbursement from her special allowance fund.

Yu's staff during his term as premier, his wife, Yang Pao-yu (楊寶玉), and his bodyguards allegedly collected 516 invoices to claim NT$2.38 million from his special allowance fund between October 2000 and December 2005, prosecutors said.

Chen, who has served as Presidential Office secretary-general and as minister of foreign affairs, is suspected of having used his staff in those two posts to collect 106 invoices to claim NT$368,199 from his fund between July 2004 and June last year.

Prosecutors said that during Hsieh's and Su's terms as premier, and during Su's term as secretary-general of the Presidential Office, both claimed their special allowance funds in the form of cash, so there was no way for the prosecution to trace the money.

After reviewing their income tax returns and personal asset reports, the prosecution found no abnormal increases in their personal wealth.

Because defendants have the right not to make statements unfavorable to themselves, the prosecution could not prove that they used part of the funds for non-official purposes.

All executives holding public office are given a monthly "special allowance."

Although the use of the money is left to the discretion of the administrative chief, half of the fund can be spent without any proof of spending, while use of the other half must be substantiated with receipts or invoices.
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