Prosecutors investigating former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) corruption and money laundering cases yesterday said they would not appeal a High Court ruling to unfreeze certain assets of the former first family.
In November, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Panel (SIP) confirmed that it had requested the court to freeze NT$300 million (US$9 million) in bank accounts, stock holdings and real estate holdings of several members of the former president’s family.
The suspension of their accounts angered the wheelchair-bound former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), who said the family’s monthly expenditures added up to about NT$300,000 because of her medical expenses. The family also owes legal fees to lawyers who are defending them in the corruption and money-laundering cases at the Taiwan High Court. The family then filed an appeal of the ruling in order to have their assets unfrozen.
About two weeks ago, the Taiwan High Court ruled in favor of Wu, ordering the SIP to free up more than NT$4.63 million in Wu’s bank account. Judges said they found Wu indeed needed to pay at least NT$120,000 a month for her living and medical expenses, and roughly NT$3.9 million in legal fees.
SIP spokesperson Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) yesterday said: “Prosecutors respect the court’s decision. We will not appeal.”
The SIP previously argued that the former first family had enough money in the unfrozen accounts to sustain itself, with NT$5 million in unfrozen bank accounts and rental income from properties, insurance compensation and monthly stipends from Chen Shui-bian’s terms as president.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
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