Prosecutors yesterday said they might start a plea negotiation with Chen Chih-chung (陳致中) and Huang Jui-ching (黃睿靚), the son and daughter-in-law of detained former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), if they see more than NT$1 billion (US$30 million) in the couple’s foreign accounts return to Taiwan.
Chen Chih-chung’s attorney, Yeh Ta-hui (葉大慧), told reporters that Chen Chih-chung last week had asked Swiss banks to wire a total of more than NT$1 billion back to a Taiwanese account assigned by prosecutors as a temporary deposit account to hold the money.
Yeh said that Chen Chih-chung and Huang have told judges and prosecutors they would like to enter plea negotiations with the prosecution and they said arranging for the money to be wired to the Taiwanese account was to show their sincerity.
Spokesman for the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Investigation Panel, Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南), said yesterday that prosecutors might agree to a plea negotiation with the couple when they see the money recovered.
Chen Chih-chung and Huang were indicted for money laundering for allegedly moving money overseas. Prosecutors accused Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) of siphoning off NT$104 million (US$3.1 million) from a special Presidential Office discretionary fund during Chen Shui-bian’s presidency from 2000 to last May. They are also accused of accepting bribes in connection with a land procurement deal, as well as US$2.73 million in kickbacks to help a contractor win the tender for a government construction project.
Chen Shui-bian has denied the accusations, but has admitted sending the money overseas, saying it was leftover campaign contributions.
Chen Chih-chung said previously that Wu Shu-jen would donate all the money to charity if investigations proved the money was clean.
Meanwhile, the Taipei District Court said yesterday that security and emergency arrangements were in place for Wu’s planned court hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Wu was rushed to hospital after she nearly collapsed from low blood pressure during her first hearing in a corruption trial in December 2006. After the incident, Wu missed her court hearings 17 times, citing illness.
Wu’s attorney said Wu would appear at Tuesday and Wednesday’s hearings accompanied by Chen Chih-chung.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
RSS