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Taiwan first lady on graft charge Taiwan first lady on graft charge
(about 1 hour later)
The wife of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has been charged in connection with the misuse of a secret presidential office fund. The wife of Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has been charged with corruption over misuse of state funds.
Prosecutors said Wu Shu-chen has been charged with embezzlement, forgery of documents and perjury. Prosecutors said they believed President Chen himself was involved, but that he was protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.
Three former presidential aides have also been charged. All four are accused of illegally claiming nearly $500,000 in funds intended for state affairs. First lady Wu Shu-chen and three former presidential aides are accused of falsely claiming nearly $500,000 of funds intended for national affairs.
The Taiwanese first lady has previously denied any wrongdoing. She has previously denied any wrongdoing.
"Prosecutors found that Wu and three other suspects jointly claimed 14.8m Taiwan dollars (US$448,484) with false receipts from the national affairs funds between July 2002 and March 2006," Chang Wen-cheng, of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Taiwan High Court, said. Prosecutors say the charges relate to the handling of a secret presidential fund used for diplomatic work overseas.
The president's office has been hit by a series of scandals in recent months. They found that "Wu and three other suspects jointly claimed 14.8m Taiwan dollars (US$448,484) with false receipts from the national affairs funds between July 2002 and March 2006," Chang Wen-cheng, of the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Taiwan High Court, said.
Mr Chang said Wu Shu-chen was facing charges of embezzlement, the forgery of documents and perjury.
The three former presidential aides also being indicted on corruption and perjury charges were named as Ma Yung-cheng, Lin Teh-shun and the president's accountant Chen Chen-hui.
Mr Chang said the prosecutor had determined that President Chen himself was "involved with the crimes of corruption and faking of documents".
But he said "we must wait until the president is recalled or finishes his term before we can pursue further investigation".
Undermined
President Chen has been seriously undermined by a series of scandals to hit the presidential office in recent months.
Last month, Wu Shu-chen was cleared of accepting vouchers from a department store in return for her influence.Last month, Wu Shu-chen was cleared of accepting vouchers from a department store in return for her influence.
In May, her son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, was arrested and later charged with insider trading.In May, her son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, was arrested and later charged with insider trading.
Mr Chen, whose term of office is due to run until 2008, has apologised for the scandals involving his family and officials but has refused to resign.Mr Chen, whose term of office is due to run until 2008, has apologised for the scandals involving his family and officials but has refused to resign.
He survived two parliamentary attempts by the opposition Kuomintang to remove him from office.He survived two parliamentary attempts by the opposition Kuomintang to remove him from office.