Taichung Prison, under the Ministry of Justice, said on Thursday it will assess available evidence before determining if former President Chen Shui-bian (???) violated his medical parole by holding a press event earlier in the day to proclaim his innocence on charges of misusing a state affairs fund.
In a press release, Taichung Prison said it sent personnel to monitor Chen’s press event in which he claimed to be innocent in a decade-old case for misusing the state affairs fund when he served as president from 2000 to 2008.
The prison authorities said based on the information collected during the press event, it will determine whether Chen violated the terms of his parole. If he is found to have done so the prison said it will demand Chen adhere to the conditions of his release and focus on receiving medical treatment, according to the press release.
Chen, 71, was first indicted in December 2008 on charges of misusing a state affairs fund. The case is currently in its second retrial at the Taiwan High Court.
Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), ending more than five decades of continuous rule by the Kuomintang (KMT) in Taiwan.
However, on leaving office Chen became embroiled in multiple corruption scandals that led to several indictments and a 20-year prison sentence in 2010, after he was found guilty of accepting bribes in a Longtan (??) land deal and the appointment of a chairman at Taipei Financial Center Corp.
Chen was incarcerated until January 2015, when he was released on medical parole for reasons of declining health by Taichung Prison where he served his sentence.
The conditions of his medical parole prohibit Chen from making stage appearances or public speeches, expressing political views or giving interviews to the media, under threat of having his parole revoked, though the prison’s statement made no mention of that possibility on this occasion.
However, the former president has spoken more frequently in public in recent years and has slammed Taichung Prison for the restrictions it places on his public speaking or attendance at public events.
Earlier Thursday at the press event, Chen said prosecutors accused him of misusing a total of NT$104 million from the state affairs fund for personal gain.
He detailed evidence showing 21 payments were made from the state affairs fund totaling NT$133 million (US$4.61 million), which far exceeded the NT$104 million he is accused of misusing during his presidency.
According to Chen, the 21 payments were used to promote confidential diplomatic missions, including paying an American lobbying firm, supporting pro-Taiwan democracy parades, and sponsoring democratic activists and groups, among others.
“I am willing to accept the death penalty if I was corrupt, but in my whole life I have always being a political worker who cares nothing about money-making,” Chen said, adding that he held the press event to prove his innocence to the public.
When asked if he expects President Tsai Ing-wen (???) of the DPP to pardon him, Chen said does not have any expectations.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s main opposition KMT accused Chen of violating his medical parole by holding Thursday’s press event.
In a Facebook post, the KMT said the misuse of state affairs fund case against Chen is still ongoing and by holding the press event Chen was blatantly disregarding Taiwan’s judicial and democratic system.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel