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Court rules out further seizure of Chen
family assets
Staff Writer, with CNA
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Former president Chen Shui-bian walks out of a police vehicle yesterday as he
enters the Supreme Court to answer questions on corruption cases involving him
and the former first family.
Photo: CNA
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Thursday from the prosecutors¡¦ office to
seize more property belonging to former president Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) and his
immediate family in connection with several corruption cases.
The court said that nearly all the money in Chen¡¦s Swiss bank accounts, totaling
NT$700 million (US$23.8 million), had been remitted back to Taiwan and that
should be enough to cover the fines demanded by the special prosecutor.
Spokesman Chen Hung-ta (³¯§»¹F) said the court¡¦s decision will not affect the
seizure of property in connection with the two cases in which Chen has already
been found guilty ¡X involving a land deal and money for political favors.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (§d²Q¬Ã), have been sentenced to 17-and-a-half years
in prison in those two cases.
The special prosecutor had requested court approval to seize NT$48 million in
fixed deposits, 37 shares with unknown value, two houses and seven lots of land
in Taipei worth more than NT$200 million.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that the Chens owe the state NT$470 million,
not the NT$980 million claimed by the special prosecutor. Given that about
NT$700 million of the family¡¦s overseas assets had been recovered, there was no
need to make further seizures, it ruled.
Chen was transferred from a detention center on Dec. 2 to Taipei Prison in
Taoyuan County, where he is now serving time.
Meanwhile, Wu was taken home from a prison hospital on Feb. 18, after Taichung
Prison declined to admit her, saying that the wheelchair-bound Wu was not
healthy enough to serve her sentence.
Kaohsiung Prosecutors¡¦ Office has said in a statement that it will regularly
send staff to Wu¡¦s residence to determine whether her health has improved enough
to enable her to begin serving her time behind bars.
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