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Ma confident that High Court will also find him not guilty

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's campaign manager Lee Ying-yuan, left, DPP Legislator Chen Ying, right, and two priests, Chen Yu-chuan, second left and Chang Hsien-chueh, pray at Hsieh's campaign headquarters in Taipei yesterday. The quartet said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou must repent to get absolution for his sins. Taiwan's High Court will announce its verdict in Ma's corruption trial today. PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressed confidence yesterday that Taiwan's High Court would uphold a lower court's decision and find him not guilty on corruption charges.

Today's decision will be closely watched by both Ma's KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) because of its critical importance for the presidential election in March.

If Ma is found guilty, he faces a minimum sentence of seven years in jail. A sentence of 10 years or more would force him to drop out of the contest, likely causing widespread political upheaval.

But speaking before supporters yesterday, Ma played down the chances that the lower court's verdict might be overturned.

"I am confident of my integrity and have expectations that justice will prevail," he said.

Ma was widely depicted by the media as clean-cut before DPP lawmakers pressed prosecutors to investigate graft allegations against him earlier this year.

In August, a district court found Ma not guilty of diverting NT$11 million (US$333,000) of public money into his private account while serving as mayor of Taipei between 1998 and last year. Judges accepted Ma's argument that the law recognized the fund as an official subsidy, but prosecutors appealed the decision, sending the case to the High Court.

Ma always maintained that one of the main charges against him -- using discretionary funds without providing detailed accounting -- had long been common practice among municipal leaders and other government officials.

Rather than pocketing the funds, he said, he used them to make donations to charity.

Many analysts believe Ma's acquittal will be upheld by the High Court.

Several leading politicians face charges similar to Ma's. Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) was charged in September of using false receipts to collect reimbursements. She has pleaded not guilty.
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