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High Court upholds not guilty verdict
for Chen
By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter
The Taiwan High Court yesterday acquitted former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)
in an embezzlement case involving US$330,000 in secret diplomatic funds.
The Taipei District Court in June last year found Chen not guilty in the
embezzlement case and the Taiwan High Court yesterday maintained the lower
court’s ruling.
Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), a spokesman for the Special Investigation Panal (SIP) of the
Supreme Prosecutors Office, said prosecutors would decide whether to take the
case to the Supreme Court after receiving the ruling.
Yesterday’s ruling said that evidence provided by prosecutors failed to prove
that Chen had pocketed diplomatic funds.
The SIP alleges that during 11 foreign visits from August 2000 through September
2006, Chen embezzled US$30,000 each time from the US$100,000 government funds
earmarked for improving foreign relations, for a total of US$330,000.
The court said that although prosecutors suspected Chen had kept the balance of
the diplomatic funds and transferred them to the US accounts of his son, Chen
Chih-chung (陳致中), there was no proof.
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