Former Taiwanese President remanded to prison

Ex-President of the Republic of China on Taiwan, Chen Shui-bian

Chen was originally jailed in November on allegations that he had embezzled around US $18 million, but was subsequently released in December after a formal indictment was presented against him and he was determined to not be a flight risk by the district court.

According to reports from Taipei, the high court was not satisfied with the decision to release Chen and assigned a new judge to the case. Jen Wen Long, Chen’s attorney, expressed doubts about the motivations of the justice system in re-imprisoning his client.

“We question the work of the Taipei district court. Changing the judge is an interference with the justice system,” he said.

In addition to the embezzlement charges, prosecutors in the case said they believe Chen accepted bribes, purloined classified documents and laundered money while in office. They have also claimed that his son has a Swiss bank account with an estimated $22 million in illegal funds.

Chen faces up to twenty-five years in prison if found guilty on all charges, but reports state that the prosecution’s indictment did not press for a specific amount of time.

Despite his return to custody Chen continues to maintain his innocence, and has even insinuated that the arrest is part of a political conspiracy to attack him for his pro-independent Taiwan policies directly in contrast to the current administration’s policies to improve relations with mainland China. ~~Adz:Right~~