The Taiwan High Court yesterday extended former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) detention by two months on the grounds that he may flee the country if released.
The ruling dashed his family’s hopes that Chen, whose current detention order expires on Wednesday, would be released following their request to Swiss banking authorities that money be sent to a bank account designated by the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Taiwan High Court judge Teng Chen-chiu (鄧振球) has previously said the move could enhance the chances of the former president being released.
On Thursday, the SIP said that another US$1 million in funds stashed by the ex-first family in banks in Switzerland had been wired to Taiwan. The latest remittance brought to US$13.51 million the amount Chen’s family had wired from Switzerland to Taiwan, with a further US$7 million left in two Swiss bank accounts.
Teng yesterday said that so far the court could only confirm the remittance of US$13 million to Taiwan.
He added Chen might flee the country if he were released, saying that Chen, as a former president, has better foreign connections than most people, and with the foreign assets he might take charge of, it was considered a risk to release Chen.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were accused of embezzling public funds, forgery and money laundering during Chen’s terms as president.
Chen was first detained at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng (土城) on Nov. 12, 2008, and released on Dec. 13, 2008, following his indictment.
He was detained again on Dec. 30, 2008, after the Taipei District Court approved a request by prosecutors to take him back into custody. He has remained in detention since.
On Friday last week, Chen and Wu had life sentences reduced to 20 years in prison after the Taiwan High Court handed down the verdict for the second trial.
Fines for Chen and Wu were also reduced to NT$170 million and NT$200 million from the earlier NT$200 million and NT$300 million, respectively. Chen maintains his innocence and said he will appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS