Former first lady Wu’s sister-in-law subpoenaed

The Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office said Chen Chun-ying was summoned again as a witness mainly so prosecutors could gain a better understanding of how and when Wu remitted huge amounts of money to ABN AMRO Bank and Standard Bank of South Africa branches in Singapore.

Chen Chun-ying and her husband, Wu Ching-mao, who is the elder brother of the former first lady, were summoned for questioning Aug. 18, but Chen appeared to faint during questioning and was rushed to the nearby National Taiwan University Hospital for emergency treatment.

The prosecutors thus decided to subpoena her again Friday for further questioning.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Division also summoned other friends and relatives of Wu Shu-jen to find out whether they were also used by the former first lady as figureheads to facilitate money laundering via overseas bank accounts.

The former first couple and their son Chen Chih-chung, daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching and Wu Ching-mao were listed last week as suspects in the case and banned from leaving the country.

During questioning by prosecutors last Friday, the former first lady argued that the US$21 million in overseas bank accounts under the name of her elder brother and daughter in-law were surplus funds from political contributions for the campaigns of her husband in two mayoral elections and two presidential elections from 1993 to 2004.

During questioning Aug. 25, Huang Jui-ching said she was used as a figurehead by her mother-in-law to open overseas bank accounts to facilitate cash deposits.

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