The verdict brings to an end more than a year of controversy surrounding the case, which involved 14 defendants, including Chen and his closest relatives, former aides, government officials and business figures.
Chen was convicted of embezzlement, forgery, fraud, graft and money laundering. The court also fined him NT$200 million (US$6.13 million) and stripped him of his civil rights, meaning he cannot vote or hold public office again.
Similarly convicted of embezzlement, forgery, fraud, graft, money laundering, Wu was also found guilty of leaking money-laundering case information. She was slapped with an NT$300 million fine and also lost her civil rights for life.
Chen’s son Chen Chih-chung and his wife Huang Jui-ching both pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges. Chih-chung was sentenced to 30 months in prison and handed an NT$150 million fine. Huang received a 20-month sentence suspended for five years and must pay an identical fine to her husband.
Two of the ex-president’s closest aides, Ma Yung-cheng, former secretary-general of the Presidential Office, and Lin Teh-shun, former director of Chen Shui-bian’s office, were convicted of embezzlement, forgery and fraud. They were respectively sentenced to 20 and 16 years, with a loss of civil rights for another 10 and eight years.
Ex-presidential cashier Chen Chen-hui was convicted on charges of embezzlement, forgery and fraud, but avoided sentencing in return for assisting prosecutors during the investigation and trial.
The ex-first lady’s brother Wu Ching-mao and his wife Chen Chun-ying were convicted of money laundering, each receiving 24-month sentences suspended for five years and NT$3 million fines.
Brothers Tsai Ming-che and Tsai Ming-chieh, who had ties to the former president’s wife, were convicted of graft and money laundering. Ming-che was handed a 26-month sentence suspended for five years, an NT$3 million fine and a loss of civil rights for one year. Ming-chieh, received 24 months suspended for five years, an NT$10 million fine and a loss of civil rights for one year. Their sister, Tsai Mei-li, was charged with money laundering but received no sentence as she is terminally ill.
In addition, former Hsinchu Science Park Director-General James L. Lee was convicted of graft. He was handed a six-year sentence and lost his civil rights for three years.
As for Kuo Chuan-ching, former head of Rich Development Inc., he was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to six months in jail, which was reduced to three. The court stripped him of his civil rights for one year.
According to legal analysts familiar with the cases, all those convicted are expected to appeal to the Taiwan High Court. (JSM)
Write to Chiayi Ho at chiayi@mail.gio.gov.tw