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.
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