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Chen questioned a second time by SIP

The Supreme Prosecutor Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP) questioned former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at the Taipei Detention Center yesterday.

It was the second time the SIP had questioned Chen since he was incarcerated on Nov. 12.

The first round of questioning took place on Nov. 21.

Chen is suspected of money laundering, accepting bribes, forgery and embezzling NT$15 million (US$450,000) during his presidency and is being held incommunicado.

He has accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration of waging a “political vendetta” against him to curry favor with China.

Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), brought food to the detention center yesterday while his lawyer brought him more books.

Meanwhile, the SIP and Chen’s office both dismissed a report in the latest issue of Next Magazine that said the SIP had obtained intelligence from the US confirming that Chen Chih-chung was a beneficiary of a stockholder of a US-based grocery chain, 99 Ranch Market.

Chen’s office issued a statement urging Next to stop making groundless allegations against Chen Chih-chung, saying he has repeatedly dismissed the allegation and that the owner of the grocery chain has also denied the accusation, yet the magazine continues to slander the former first son.

“If Next Magazine refuses to believe Chen Chih-chung’s clarification and rejoinder, please confirm with the person involved before printing the story and stop making baseless claims and fabrications,” the statement said.

SIP spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) also rejected the report, saying the office had not received any information from the US.

The report also claimed that the SIP has found that the former first lady’s cousin Wu Jing-lin (吳景林) was key in the family’s “secret accounts” in Japan, saying that Wu was a high-ranking manager at the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp there.

The SIP said yesterday that it had asked for assistance from Tokyo via “informal channels” but had not received a reply.

While Chen Chih-chung has said that he was just a figurehead, just doing what his mother told him to do, Next claimed he knew about the money laundering and that he was one of the three people who had access to a safety deposit box at Cathay United Bank where the family once deposited NT$1.4 billion in cash.

The former president’s office also denounced Next for seriously damaging former presidential treasurer Chen Chen-hui’s (陳鎮慧) reputation by “blowing her role and job description out of proportion.”

The magazine story also claimed Chen Shui-bian had needed a lot of money when he traveled to the south to proclaim his innocence in the corruption allegations.

His office dismissed the claim as “nonsense” and “unwarranted.”
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