The High Court yesterday acquitted former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of charges related to his personal use of state funds following a recent change to the Accounting Act (會計法), while his wife and son were sentenced on bribery charges.
In its second retrial ruling, the High Court dismissed all charges against Chen, his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), and his close aides relating to the former president’s use of Presidential Office funds from 2000 to 2008.
The judgement was made in accordance with a contentious May amendment to Article 99-1 of the Accounting Act, which makes the personal use of such funds legal and absolves officials of liability for its improper use prior to Dec. 31, 2006, the court said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The amendment, which was pushed through the legislature by the Democratic Progressive Party and came into effect last month, expanded the exemption of punishment for the misuse of special allowance funds to include state affairs funds available to the president.
Chen was first indicted on charges of corruption, forgery and money laundering in 2008, with prosecutors accusing the now-71-year-old of misusing a total of NT$104 million (US$3.47 million) from the state affairs fund for personal use.
Chen has maintained his innocence, saying that the fund was used to promote confidential diplomatic missions, including paying a US lobbying firm, supporting pro-Taiwan democracy parades, and sponsoring democracy advocates and groups.
The case is one of several corruption scandals that Chen became embroiled in after leaving office.
In 2010, he was sentenced to about 20 years in jail for accepting bribes in a land deal in Taoyuan and other cases.
Chen was released on conditional medical parole in 2015.
The High Court yesterday found Wu guilty of money laundering in a separate case and sentenced the 69-year-old to two years in prison.
The court said that Wu had instructed her son, Kaohsiung City Councilor Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), and daughter-in-law, Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), to place the money she received from bribes relating to the land deal and the construction of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center into overseas bank accounts.
Wu, who was a legislator from 1987 to 1990, was previously sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in prison for bribery and other charges in 2010. She has yet to serve time in jail due to health issues.
Chen Chih-chung was sentenced to one year in prison yesterday and fined NT$1.5 million for his involvement in the money laundering case, while Huang was given four years’ probation and fined NT$1 million.
The sentences can be appealed.
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