The Taiwan High Court on Friday acquitted former President Chen Shui-bian (???) of charges related to his personal use of presidential state affairs funds following a recent change to the Accounting Act applied retrospectively.
In its second retrial ruling, the high court dismissed all charges against Chen, his wife Wu Shu-jen (???) and his close aides in a case surrounding the former president’s alleged misuse of Presidential Office funds from 2000-2008.
The judgement was made in accordance with a recent amendment to Article 99-1 of the Accounting Act, which makes the personal use of such funds retrospectively legal, the court said.
The amendment, which was pushed through the Legislature by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and came into effect in June, expanded the exemption of punishment for the misuse of special allowance funds to include state affairs funds available to the president.
Chen was first indicted on charges of corruption, document forgery and money laundering in 2008, with prosecutors accusing the 71-year-old of misusing a total of NT$104 million (US$3.47 million) from the state affairs fund for personal use.
Chen has consistently declared his innocence on the charges, arguing that the fund was used to promote confidential diplomatic missions, including paying an American lobbying firm, supporting pro-Taiwan democracy parades, and sponsoring democratic activists and groups, among others.
The case is one of several corruption scandals that Chen became embroiled in after leaving office. He was given a total of roughly 20 years in jail in 2010 for accepting bribes in a land deal in Taoyuan and other cases.
As a result, the former president was incarcerated but released on conditional medical parole in 2015.
On Friday, the Taiwan High Court also found Wu, guilty of money laundering in a separate case and sentenced the 69-year-old two years in prison.
The court based its ruling on the fact that Wu instructed her son Chen Chih-chung (???) and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching (???) to place the money she received from bribes relating to the land deal and the construction of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center into overseas bank accounts.
In addition to the sentence handed down to Wu on Friday, the former fist lady who served as a legislator from 1987-1990 was previously sentenced to 17-and-a-half-years in prison for bribery and other cases in 2010. However, she has yet to serve one day in jail due to reported health issues.
Meanwhile, Chen Chih-chung, who is currently a Kaohsiung city councilor, was sentenced to one year in prison Friday and fined NT$1.5 million for his involvement in the money laundering case, while Huang was given four years’ probation and a fine of NT$1 million. The sentences can still be appealed.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel