Former interior minister Yu Cheng-hsien set free on NT$1 mil. bail

He was arraigned before the Taipei district court, where judges set the bail for release to summarily end his detention since October 15.

Yu was arrested and sent to the Taipei detention house at Tucheng from Taoyuan International Airport 42 days ago, while waiting for a flight to leave for Macao.

His attorneys at law requested the district court review the detention order and it took only eight minutes for judges in conference to comply in the morning.

Yu was the last of the suspects to be freed from detention for further questioning.

One suspect, charged but not detained, is former first lady Wu Shu-chen. Standing trial for corruption, she hasn’t been placed under detention because of poor health.

The ex-interior minister was accused of providing the name list of a review panel for the exhibition hall to a single contractor, who allegedly gave a NT$100 million bribe to Wu Shu-chen.

All 17 professors and experts forming the panel have been charged with approving the Rich construction plan under duress.

Kuo Chuan-ching, president of the Rich Construction Company that built the exhibition hall at Nankang in 2007, was arrested on last September 11.

All 17 professors and experts forming the panel have been charged with approving the Rich construction plan under duress.

The contractor was released on October 15 after admitting he gave a NT$10 million commission to Tsai Ming-cheh, special assistant to the ex-first lady.

Tsai brokered the deal for Kuo.

While under detention, Yu told prosecutors of the Special Counsel Wu Shu-chen asked him to give the name list to Kuo who admitted he bribed the reviewers.

Taipei district court judges freed Tsai on a NT$3 million bail, after he had admitted to Special Counsel prosecutors the bribe money was remitted to Kuo’s sister in the United States for crediting a secret bank account of the ex-first family.

Wu Shu-chen was also charged with money laundering.

Her husband Cheng Shui-bian was not involved in the exhibition hall scandal. But he was regarded as an unindicted co-defendant with her in the corruption case.

She was charged in 2006 with borrowing invoices and receipts from friends and relatives to claim a NT$14.8 million reimbursement from her husband’s state affairs fund.

Chen was not indicted, for he was immune to prosecution, but was considered a co-defendant, who would be formally charged on leaving office. He stepped down on last May 20.

On November 12, Chen was arrested on charges of corruption, forgery and money laundering and has since been detained.

Also detained for involvement in the money laundering case were Chen’s brother-in-law Wu Ching-mao and former secretary-general Chiou I-jen of the National Security Council.

Yeh Sheng-mao, former director-general of the Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Justice, has been under detention since October 6, charged with compromising security by providing Chen Shui-bian with top secret reports on money laundering incriminating the former first couple.

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