The Taipei District Court handed down the verdict for the former first couple and a dozen others, as Chen's supporters and opponents rallied outside the courthouse that was being tightly guarded by police.

The court also slapped the couple with heavy fines totaling NT$500 million for stealing from the presidential expense account, taking bribes, and laundering money.

Their son, Chih-chung, and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching, were also convicted for their role in the money-laundering.

The son received two years and six months, and his wife one year and eight months with a five-year suspension.

The court said the former president was severely punished because as a national leader and a lawyer he failed to obey the law.

The wheelchair-bound ex-first-lady took advantage of her position and her husband's power to reap huge sums of illegal gains, the court said.

The court described the couple's illegal gains, totaling NT$490 million, as “incredible.”

Chen, who has been in custody since last year, did not show up to receive the verdict. The ex-president remained calm after he was told of the verdict, jail officials said.

He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the charges were politically motivated.

Wu's attorney, Lin Chi-chung, said it was surprising that teh court came down “unexpectedly” hard on the ex-first lady.

He said he would advise Wu to make an appeal to the high court.

The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which urged the court to grant Chen bail pending appeal, said it will decide next week what actions it will take to press for Chen's release.

The high court will decide whether Chen will be released on bail after he files an appeal.

Chen and Wu were found guilty of misappropriating from the presidential expense account, accepting bribes in two government projects, and laundering money.

But prosecutors' actions will not end with the district court's guilty verdict, as they are still investigating other corruption cases that the ex-first family was allegedly involved in.

The court, in concluding the trial, instructed prosecutors investigate whether the ex-first couple's children and in-laws had been more deeply involved in corruption.

Prosecutors are also ready to bring more charges in their probe into other cases that the former first family was allegedly involved, the Central News Agency said.

According to the court, former Deputy Presidential Secretary-General Ma Yung-cheng was sentenced to 20 years for helping Chen and his wife illegally make claims on the presidential expense account, the court said.

Another aide, Lin Teh-hsun, received 16 years.

But the ex-president's former cashier Chen Chen-hui, was spared of a prison term for confessing and showing remorse although she was also found guilty.

James Li, a former chief of the Hsinchu Science Park, was sentenced to six years for receiving kickbacks in a government land purchase manipulated by Chen and Wu.

The former-first lady's brother Wu Ching-mao and her sister-in-law Chen Chun-ying, both of whom were found guilty of helping her launder money, were each sentenced to two years in prison with suspension.

Other defendants in the case received suspended prison terms ranging from three to 26 months.

Prosecutors began investigating the Chen family in 2006 when Wu was said to have illegally claimed from the presidential expense account.

Subsequent investigation showed that the family was laundering money overseas, and that Chen and Wu were behind a couple of bribing-taking cases.