Special Investigation Panel (SIP) Spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南), of the Supreme Prosecutors Office, confirmed yesterday that former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) submitted a document to prosecutors last week but denied the document was related to a plea bargain.
“She presented us with facts pertinent to our investigation,” Chen said. “She was not admitting to any crimes in return for a potentially shorter sentence.”
Citing a gag order, Chen declined to elaborate on the contents of the document.
“I cannot tell you what the document was related to. But I assure you that the former first lady was not admitting to anything,” Chen said.
Wu is scheduled for a two-day pre-trial hearing today and tomorrow.
The SIP indicted Wu and her husband, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), on Dec. 12 on charges of money laundering, corruption and forgery. They stand accused of embezzling NT$104 million (US$3 million) from a special presidential fund.
They are also accused of accepting NT$100 million in bribes and US$6 million 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.
The wheelchair-bound Wu was originally indicted on Nov. 3, 2006, for using other people’s receipts to claim NT$14.8 million in reimbursements from the president’s “special state affairs” fund between 2002 and 2006, but has missed many hearings in the case because of poor health.
Physicians and nurses from National Taiwan University Hospital will be standing by to attend to her during the hearings today and tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Chen Shui-bian will face another forgery lawsuit in addition to his other charges after the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday filed a suit against him at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office Spokesman Lin Chin-chun (林錦村) confirmed that the CEC had brought the lawsuit and that prosecutors would begin investigating the case shortly.
Lin said that the CEC had filed the suit against the former president because it had discovered that Chen Shui-bian did not honestly report his election funds during the 2004 presidential election.
The false information Chen filed to the CEC caused the commission to release inaccurate background information on candidates.
Lin, however, would not comment on the case in addition to confirming it.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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