The son of imprisoned former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday vowed to appeal a Taiwan High Court ruling on Thursday that found him guilty of helping his parents launder money they received as bribes for arranging bank mergers.
Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), who is presently doing community service in Greater Kaohsiung in lieu of a three-month prison sentence for perjury in a corruption charge that also involved his parents, said the High Court’s rulings were “absolutely unacceptable” to him and his family.
He said the funds channeled to his family during his father’s tenure were “political donations” and described the court’s sentences as politically motivated.
The High Court reversed a ruling by the Taipei District Court last year that acquitted Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), Chen Chih-chung and his wife, Huang Jui--ching (黃睿靚), of bribery and money laundering charges related to bank mergers that were part of a “second financial reform” initiative.
It sentenced the former president to 18 years and Wu to 11 years in prison and fined them NT$180 million (US$5.95 million) and NT$102 million respectively for taking bribes from financial conglomerates to help arrange favorable mergers during Chen’s tenure as president between 2000 and 2008.
They were also ordered to return the NT$500 million they allegedly received in bribes to the national coffers. In the same ruling, the court sentenced Chen Chih-chung to one year in jail and fined him NT$4 million and gave Huang a six-month sentence and a NT$2 million fine for their parts in helping hide and move the money.
The former president’s son, who announced his intention to run for a seat in the legislature on Sept. 1, two weeks after he was stripped of his post on Greater Kaohsiung Council because of his perjury conviction, called for voters to make the right choice when voting for a new president on Jan. 14.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
RSS