TMCnet News
LEAD: Taiwan's ex-president Chen detained for alleged graft+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TAIPEI, Nov. 12_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO) Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian was formally detained on Wednesday after a Taipei court approved prosecutors' request to take him into custody on suspicion of graft. Prosecutors have been investigating Chen for graft since he stepped down as president on May 20 after serving the maximum two terms. They claim he dipped into a secret diplomacy fund while in power and laundered tens of millions of U.S. dollars in campaign contributions since 1994. Local TV footage of prosecutors leading Chen to a police motorcade in handcuffs Tuesday had sent political shockwaves across the island. But a decision by the Taipei District Court on whether to formally detain him, which had been expected Tuesday, was delayed after he claimed to have been injured while being forced into a van by prosecutors. After lodging a protest, 57-year-old Chen was taken to hospital Tuesday evening for a checkup. The Supreme Prosecutors Office denied mistreating Chen, releasing to the public security camera footage of his transfer as evidence and calling claims to the contrary "absolutely false." Copyright ? 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc. |