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Chen pleads not guilty to bribery charge
Source: Xinhua |
January 20, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FORMER Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of receiving bribes in a land deal, as the pretrial phase of graft proceedings against him began in a Taipei court and two new allegations were added.
The two additional charges were blackmailing and seeking profit from projects.
Amid heavy security, Chen, 57, was brought to the court in handcuffs from the suburban detention center where he has been held since December 29, when the Taipei district court reversed its original decision to release him.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-chen, were indicted in December on charges of embezzling NT$104 million (US$3.12 million) from a special government fund, of receiving bribes worth at least US$9 million in connection with a government land procurement deal and of laundering part of the funds by wiring the money to Swiss bank accounts.
Appearing before a three-judge panel on the first day of pretrial hearings, Chen pleaded not guilty to the land deal charges, which stipulate that he received money from a Taiwanese company to help it sell property to the government for the development of a science and industrial park.
"If such a thing were true I could not die in peace," he told the court.
Three pretrial sessions are expected to be held this week to hear Chen's defense and settle procedural issues, with the formal part of his trial slated to get under way in late February or March. It is expected to last two to three months, though appeals will likely keep it going on for years.
Prosecutors say Chen could be given a life sentence if convicted of the charges against him.
The two additional charges were blackmailing and seeking profit from projects.
Amid heavy security, Chen, 57, was brought to the court in handcuffs from the suburban detention center where he has been held since December 29, when the Taipei district court reversed its original decision to release him.
Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-chen, were indicted in December on charges of embezzling NT$104 million (US$3.12 million) from a special government fund, of receiving bribes worth at least US$9 million in connection with a government land procurement deal and of laundering part of the funds by wiring the money to Swiss bank accounts.
Appearing before a three-judge panel on the first day of pretrial hearings, Chen pleaded not guilty to the land deal charges, which stipulate that he received money from a Taiwanese company to help it sell property to the government for the development of a science and industrial park.
"If such a thing were true I could not die in peace," he told the court.
Three pretrial sessions are expected to be held this week to hear Chen's defense and settle procedural issues, with the formal part of his trial slated to get under way in late February or March. It is expected to last two to three months, though appeals will likely keep it going on for years.
Prosecutors say Chen could be given a life sentence if convicted of the charges against him.
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