Former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) appeared in court in her last pre-trial hearing yesterday, where her lawyers requested that four witnesses related to her money laundering case be summoned.
Wu, accompanied by her son Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), a doctor, nurse and caregiver arrived at the Taipei District Court at approximately 2:10pm, 20 minutes before the start of the hearing.
When the hearing began, presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) asked Wu about her physical condition. Wu, appearing tired, said: “My blood pressure is a bit low.”
Tsai told her that she should let the court know if she was not feeling well enough to continue, before listening to arguments relating to the money laundering and forgery cases.
Wu admitted to the existence of companies and bank accounts, both domestic and overseas, that were listed in the indictment. However, she told Tsai that some of the money had been transfered before 2000 when her husband, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), was inaugurated.
Because Wu appeared weaker than usual, Tsai let her rest for 20 minutes a half-hour after the hearing began.
Wu’s lawyer Lin Chih-chung (林志忠) requested that the court summon Wu’s financial advisers Yeh Ling-ling (葉玲玲) and Hsu Li-te (徐立德), Wu’s elder brother Wu Ching-mao (吳景茂) and former chairwoman of Taipei Financial Center Corp Diana Chen (陳敏薰) as witnesses in the money laundering case.
Wu asked Tsai if all four witnesses could be called on the same day, a request Tsai said the court would be happy to comply with because “each time you come, it costs a lot of money.”
However, he expressed concern that Wu’s poor health would not allow her to sit in court for such a long period of time.
“Just don’t ask [the witnesses] too many questions,” Wu said, which sparked laughter in the courtroom.
“I won’t talk as much as the [former] president,” Wu said, which prompted further laughter.
Tsai and Wu reached an agreement that the first three witnesses — the financial advisers and her elder brother — would be called on the same day. Diana Chen would be called separately.
The hearing ended at 3:50pm.
Wu’s trial will begin on Tuesday, when the former president’s bookkeeper Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧) will be called as the first witness.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS