Lawyers defending former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) in a series of corruption cases said yesterday that while going through the video depositions of witnesses, they found a 30-minute section on one of the discs that had no sound.
Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍), one of Chen’s lawyers, expressed suspicion that the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office might have tampered with the recording to erase testimony that would have backed the defendants.
SIP Spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said the prosecutors in his division would never tamper with a recording.
The video equipment may have malfunctioned, Chen Yun-nan said.
The SIP spokesman said that he had not seen the recording in question and suspected that the soundless portion of the video could be an intermission that had been videotaped by a camcorder left running during a break in the deposition.
He said that his division would look into the matter and determine whether there was a problem with the videotape.
As for whether the disc could still be submitted as evidence, he said that was for the court to decide.
Chen Yun-nan said that in addition to the recording on the disc, the deposition had also been transcribed to ensure the accuracy of the testimony.
He said the defense counsel could always cross-examine the witness in question — Taiwan Cement Corp chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允), who prosecutors say transferred NT$300 million (US$8.81 million) in 2003 as bribes to the former president and his wife for a land procurement deal in Taoyuan County.
The prosecutors say the former president used his position to ensure the government would purchase land for the construction of a science park after Wu allegedly received bribes through the landowner.
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