The Supreme Court yesterday rejected an appeal by former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to revoke a Taiwan High Court ruling last month that he remain in custody for another two months.
Chen filed the appeal after a three-judge panel from the High Court ruled on Dec. 17 that he be kept behind bars for another two months, on the grounds that he might abscond if released from detention.
After a review, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court ruling and turned down Chen’s appeal.
The high court ruling said Chen should be detained for another two months from Dec. 24 to Feb. 23. The next hearing on whether he should be detained for a longer period might be held before the Feb. 13 to Feb. 21 Lunar New Year holiday.
The judges said in their ruling that Chen has had the chance to come into contact with foreign governments and members of the private sector, making him “more familiar than ordinary people with ways to flee overseas.”
With Chen’s influence and the assets stashed overseas by his family, he could live a comfortable life if he were to run away to evade the severe sentence he could face, the judges said.
Both Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen, were sentenced on Sept. 11 by the Taipei District Court to life in prison, in addition to receiving fines of NT$200 million (US$6.13 million) and NT$300 million, respectively, on several counts of corruption, including embezzling from a presidential fund for state affairs, taking bribes from local businessmen and money laundering.
Chen was first detained on Nov. 12, 2008, and was released on Dec. 13, 2008, following his indictment.
He was detained again on Dec. 30, 2008, after the Taipei District Court approved a request by prosecutors to take him back into custody and he has not been released since.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS