The Taipei District Court today reasserted in a retrial its earlier ruling that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) cannot be prosecuted for money laundering due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The money-laundering allegations stem from a separate case in which Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), were accused of accepting NT$10 million (US$303,567) in bribes to appoint Diana Chen (陳敏薰) chairperson of Taipei 101.
Chen Shui-bian, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, was president from 2000 to 2008, while Diana Chen served as Taipei 101's first head of operations from 2004 to 2008.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
During the bribery case, in which the former president and his wife were both sentenced to eight years in prison, the Taiwan High Court said that Chen had also been an accomplice to money laundering, prompting Taipei prosecutors to open an investigation and ultimately file charges.
As Chen's money-laundering case got underway, he was found by doctors to be unfit to stand trial on medical grounds, as a result of which the trial was suspended on May 13, 2015.
In May last year, the Taipei District Court said Chen could no longer be prosecuted, as the statute of limitations for the crime — 10 years at the time — had expired.
Prosecutors appealed the decision to the Taiwan High Court, which ruled that both sides had a right to be heard before a final judgement.
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