Taipei District prosecutors yesterday charged former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) ex-housekeeper Lo Shih Li-yun (羅施麗雲) with lying to prosecutors about the first family’s alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Lo worked for Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) for more than a decade.
Lo mainly worked as a caregiver for the former first lady. She was also involved in the family’s expenses because she was often sent out to buy food or supplies.
Prosecutors allege she and her husband Luo Sheng-shun (羅勝順) purposely gave false testimony and destroyed evidence to protect the former president and his wife from being convicted of embezzlement.
Chen and Wu have been accused of illegally receiving reimbursements for personal expenses from the presidential “state affairs fund” using inappropriate receipts. Wu allegedly told Lo to tell prosecutors that the receipts were for legitimate expenses.
Prosecutors also said Lo and her husband had previously testified that Chen used part of the money from the “state affairs fund” to reward her and her husband for their work for the family.
Last year Chen and Wu were convicted by the district court of a number of charges, including embezzlement of the “state affairs fund.” Their cases are under appeal.
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
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
‘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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with