Taichung Prison on Thursday said it would assess evidence before determining if former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) contravened his medical parole by holding a media event earlier in the day to proclaim his innocence in a drawn-out case of misusing a state affairs fund.
Taichung Prison said in a statement that it sent personnel to monitor Chen’s event, in which he claimed to be innocent in a decade-old case of misusing the state fund when he served as president from 2000 to 2008.
Authorities are to determine if any contraventions took place based on what its personnel witnessed at the event, the statement said, without elaborating on what actions it would take if the parole was breached, aside from demanding that Chen adhere to the conditions of his medically related release.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Chen, 71, was first indicted in December 2008 on charges of misusing a state fund. The case is in its second retrial at the High Court.
Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), ending more than five decades of continuous rule by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Upon leaving office, Chen was identified in several corruption scandals that led to indictments and a 20-year prison sentence in 2010, after he was found guilty of accepting bribes in a Longtan District (龍潭) land deal and the appointment of a chairwoman at Taipei Financial Center Corp.
Chen was incarcerated until January 2015, when he was released on medical parole for reasons of declining health by Taichung Prison, where he served his sentence.
The conditions of his parole prohibit Chen from making stage appearances or public speeches, expressing political views or giving interviews to the media.
Contraventions could result in his parole being revoked, although the statement regarding Thursday’s event did not mention that possibility.
Chen said at the event that prosecutors accused him of misusing a total of NT$104 million (US$3.6 million at the current exchange rate) from the state affairs fund for personal gain.
He provided evidence that he said showed 21 payments were made from the fund totaling NT$133 million, far exceeding the amount he is accused of misusing during his presidency.
Chen said that the payments were used to promote confidential diplomatic missions, including paying a US lobbying firm, supporting Taiwanese democracy parades, and sponsoring democratic advocates and groups, among others.
“I would be willing to accept the death penalty if I were corrupt, but in my whole life I have always been a political worker who cares nothing about moneymaking,” Chen said, adding that he held the media event to prove his innocence to the public.
When asked if he expects President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to pardon him, Chen said he does not have any expectations.
The KMT said on Facebook that Chen contravened his medical parole by holding the event.
Chen disrespected Taiwan’s judicial and democratic system given that the case is ongoing, the party said.
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