Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) came face to face with former Chinatrust Financial Holding Co vice chairman Jeffrey Koo Jr (辜仲諒) in court yesterday as Koo was questioned about allegations that Chen had accepted kickbacks as part of a land deal.
Called as a defense witness, Koo was questioned for more than seven hours about his involvement in the sale a plot of land in Longtan (龍潭), Taoyuan County.
Prosecutors allege that former first lady Wu Shu-jen’s (吳淑珍) friend Tsai Ming-che (蔡明哲) helped the Chen family solicit bribes and lined his own pockets with a portion of the money as part of the deal between the government-run Hsinchu Science Park and Dayu Development Corp — a subsidiary of the Koo Group.
PHOTO: CNA
However, Koo said it would be impossible for him to have had a stake in Dayu because he was the managing director of Chinatrust at the time of the deal.
Koo also contradicted his uncle, Taiwan Cement Corp chairman Leslie Koo (辜成允), saying that Leslie Koo owed his father NT$6 billion (US$176 million), but he did not owe his uncle any money, as his uncle had claimed.
Leslie Koo has testified that NT$200 million in commissions for the former first lady was supposed to be paid by Jeffrey Koo, but his nephew had backed-out of the deal after Chen Shui-bian won the 2004 presidential election, which his nephew had not expected.
When asked by Chen’s lawyer Shih Yi-lin (石宜琳) why he did not return to Taiwan to face trial in another case, Jeffrey Koo said: “I always wanted to come back, but a lawyer surnamed Hung (洪) convinced me not to return, saying I would be treated unfairly.”
In response to a later question from prosecutors, Jeffrey Koo identified the lawyer as Hung Kuei-san, a member of Chen’s defense team, which caused a commotion in the courtroom.
He also told Presiding Judge Tsai Shou-hsun (蔡守訓) that prosecutors had not made a deal with him to get him to testify against Chen.
There has been widespread speculation that prosecutors had made a deal to convince Koo to return from Japan.
He had been in hiding since evading an arrest warrant issued in 2006 after he failed to answer a subpoena to appear in court over allegations of irregularities involving Chinatrust’s bid for rival Mega Financial Holding Co.
Jeffrey Koo returned to Taiwan last November. He was released on bail and without restrictions on where he could live or travel.
At the beginning of yesterday’s questioning, Jeffrey Koo appeared very nervous and barely made any eye contact with Chen. His voice was stronger in the afternoon when Chen confronted him directly.
“You’re not one of my counselors. Why did you say that after I was elected, I often talked to you about the financial market or diplomatic relations? Are we that close?” Chen asked him.
This seemed to anger Jeffrey Koo, who replied: “Our closeness had been entirely built on money.”
He then went on to detail large donations made by his family to Chen during his campaigns.
“Indeed, I wasn’t your counselor, but I had been more involved in your affairs [than your counselors],” he said. “No counselor would give you that much money.”
Former Hsinchu Science Park chief James Lee (李界木) had been scheduled to be questioned at 3:30pm but his appearance was postponed until April 16 because Koo’s questioning ran so long.
‘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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as