Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday refused to testify against his co-defendant Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧), his former bookkeeper, who is accused of helping the former president embezzle money.
Chen Shui-bian said his court-appointed attorneys told him he could refuse to testify in Chen Chen-hui’s trial because he harbored mixed feelings toward his former bookkeeper.
However, Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) of the Taipei District Court told the former president that while he could refuse to answer certain questions, he could not refuse to testify entirely.
After Tsai ordered a recess in which Chen Shui-bian conferred with his attorneys, the former president told the court he would be willing to testify out of respect for the court.
REWARDS
Meanwhile, former premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday testified that he “should have” received a monetary performance reward from Chen Shui-bian.
Tsai had scheduled yesterday’s hearing to question Chang on whether he received NT$2 million (US$60,700) from the former president.
The purpose of the hearing was to determine the authenticity of some of the expense reports related to the presidential “state affairs fund,” a government fund earmarked for official purposes to be used at the president’s discretion.
Prosecutors previously argued that Chang and former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) had not received money they had been promised by Chen Shui-bian, implying that the former president lied about rewarding government officials with bonuses when in fact he took the cash reimbursements from the government fund for his personal use.
The former president is charged with embezzling NT$104.15 million in government funds.
MEMORY PROBLEMS
In witness statements Chang made to Special Investigation Panel (SIP) prosecutors, the former premier said he could not recall whether Chen Shui-bian had given him a NT$2 million reward.
However, after a few days, Chang said in a written statement to the SIP that he had indeed received monetary rewards from the former president.
In court yesterday, prosecutors probed Chang about the discrepancy.
He answered that because his memory was poor, he could not recall the reward when questioned by prosecutors. However, after he gave the matter more thought, Chang said, he remembered that he “should have” received money from Chen Shui-bian because he performed very well during his two terms as premier.
However, Chang said he could not provide further details, such as when and where he should have received the money, citing poor memory.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS