Former Taiwan President (and wife) Sentenced to Life in Prison for Corruption

[ikechiji]

Ok Guys & Gals, it is the Taiwanese ex-President and his wife, not Nigerian ex-President. The amount of money (~$10-15 million) is also pocket change compared to billions that IBB, OBJ, Ibori, Odili, etc have embezzled. We have a long way to go but we will get there some day (MLK).

Taiwan’s ex-president jailed for life over graft



TAIPEI, Taiwan - A Taiwan court imposed a life sentence on former President Chen Shui-bian after convicting him of corruption Friday, marking a watershed in the island's turbulent political history.

Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen was also convicted of corruption and received the same life sentence, said court spokesman Huang Chun-ming.

"Chen Shui-bian and Wu Shu-chen were sentenced to life in prison because Chen has done grave damage to the country, and Wu, because she was involved in corruption deals as the first lady," Huang said.

He said the two had also been fined a total of $15.2 million.

The verdicts came as hundreds Chen supporters demonstrated outside a downtown Taipei court, holding flags and banners saying "free him" and "Chen's innocent."

Huang said a three-judge Taipei District Court panel found the 58-year-old Chen guilty on multiple corruption counts.

Chen was charged with embezzling $3.15 million during his 2000-2008 presidency from a special presidential fund, receiving bribes worth at least $9 million in connection with a government land deal, laundering some of the money through Swiss bank accounts, and forging documents.

Chen chose not to attend Friday's proceedings. He has been confined to a suburban Taipei jail since late December, after prosecutors convinced judges not to free him following his indictment.

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[tengallons]

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-11-voa8.cfm



Former Taiwan President Sentenced to Life in Prison
By Thibault Worth
Taipei
11 September 2009

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Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to life in prison.

Taiwan former President Chen Shui-bian is seen behind barbed-wire at the Tucheng Detention Center in Taipei County, Taiwan, 11 Sep 2009

The Taipei District Court on Friday convicted Mr. Chen of embezzling over $3 million from a presidential affairs fund. He was also found guilty of accepting bribes worth $9 million in connection with government land deals.

Taipei District Court spokesman Huang Chun-ming explains the severity of the verdict.

Huang says the court decided to impose the life sentence on Mr. Chen Shui-bian because as president, he severely damaged Taiwan.

Chen was convicted of a total of six charges and fined $6 million.

His wife, Wu Shu-chen was convicted of similar charges and was also sentenced to life in prison.

The case has riveted the country. On Friday, several hundred supporters of Mr. Chen demonstrated near the court, some throwing plastic bottles and trash at police in protest.

Mr. Chen and his supporters accuse the current government of persecuting Mr. Chen for his fiery anti-China politics.

As president from 2000 to 2008, Mr. Chen frequently clashed with Chinese leaders by asserting Taiwan's independence.

China has claimed the island as a breakaway province since the end of a civil war in 1949, and vows to unify Taiwan with the rest of the country by force if it takes formal steps to declare independence.

The self-ruled island became a multi-party democracy in 1996, after decades of rule by the Kuomintang. Chen was the first leader elected from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Current President Ma Ying-jeou, a member of the KMT, has made closer relations with Beijing a cornerstone of his administration. Mr. Ma rejects allegations that the government is persecuting Mr. Chen.

Several aspects of the trial have drawn international criticism though. Following Mr. Chen's indictment last December, a three-judge panel from the Taipei District Court was replaced. The new judges took a harsher stance, accepting prosecutors' arguments that Mr. Chen should be denied bail. The ex-president has spent more than eight months in detention.

[denker]

ikechiji
Ex-President and Wife jailed for life over graft
Ok Guys & Gals, it is the Taiwanese ex-President and his wife, not Nigerian ex-President. The amount of money (~$10-15 million) is also pocket change compared to billions that IBB, OBJ, Ibori, Odili, etc have embezzled. We have a long way to go but we will get there some day (MLK).

ike, dank u for dis post...maybe, one day naija gonna be serious fighting corruption...for now dem dey just dey scratch only the surface....