Chen Puo-jen, a resident of Yonghe of Taipei County, northern Taiwan, asked his friends Tuesday to stop calling him “A Bian” — a nickname of the former president, saying he had changed his name back at a household registration office the previous day. A founding member of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Chen Puo-jen changed his name to Chen Shui-bian in May 2000 when the former president won the presidency, according to a local newspaper.

Chen Puo-jen is not the only person ashamed to be known as Chen Shui-bian. A nine-year-old boy living in Nantou, central Taiwan, has recently demanded that his parents — also diehard Chen supporters — give him back his original name after they changed his name to Chen Shui-bian several months ago, according to local press reports.

The boy said he was upset by his friends mocking him for “being corrupt.”

The scandal-ridden former president has been battling charges since he stepped down May 20 that he misused public funds during his eight-year presidency.

They are not his only suspected transgressions to have come to light, as he is also mired in an alleged money laundering scam valued at several hundred millions of new Taiwan dollars.

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