Jeffery Koo, Jr. says that the Taipei High Court should reject a statement he gave against former President Chen Shui-bian as it was false and obtained from Koo under threat of imprisonment. Koo made his statement on March 26 in a pre-trial hearing on evidence presented against him by the Special Investigation Division of the Supreme Prosecutors Office.
Chen Shu-bian was president of the Republic of China in-exile from 2000 to 2008 and has been imprisoned under harsh conditions for purported corruption since shortly after leaving office. Jeffery Koo, Jr., the chief witness against Chen, alleged a large campaign donation was actually a bribe. Chen was convicted and given a lengthy prison sentence following a controversial trial largely on the strength of Koo’s statement.
Jeffery Koo, Jr., the former vice-chairman of Chinatrust, a large financial holding company, is facing his own long prison sentence for complex transactions involving insider trading. In November 2006, Koo fled Taiwan to avoid the charges against him. The SID sent a prosecutor to Japan and offered the fugitive a sweetheart deal, travel privileges and no detention, in exchange for testimony against Chen Shui-bian. Koo went along with the fix of Chen’s trial by his perjury and returned to Taiwan in December 2008. Koo later had a falling out with prosecutors at SID so Koo is now looking at the prospect of prison.
Chen Shui-bian’s attorneys and supporters have long protested that Koo’s false evidence undermines the conviction of Chen and that the former president should be released. However, Koo’s own testimony about his contribution turned bribe has now spiked public interest in Chen’s trial. Koo has also asked the Taipei court considering his fate to subpoena his late father’s attorney, Fu Zu-sheng, to testify about the deal made against Chen.
Chen Shui-bian is presently serving his sentence in a locked psychiatric cell at a government hospital where his deteriorating neurological condition is being monitored. Chen had been confined to a tiny cell for 23 hours per day with no furniture, not even a bed. During Chen’s confinement at Taipei Prison he was denied requested medical treatment and given a psychiatric medication without his consent. Chen was transferred to the hospital following a visit from the Human Rights Action Center in Washington, D.C.
Exiled Chinese intellectual Yuan Hong-bing, a law professor, claims secret documents from the People’s Republic of China that he obtained show that the prosecution of Chen Shui-bian had its genesis in the bowels of a underground military control bunker in China. Yuan claims the PRC had its contacts in the Kuomintang in Taiwan initiate the case against Chen.
Jeffery Koo, Jr.’s new testimony adds credence to a recent study by Taiwanese scholars that Chen Shui-bian did not get a fair trial and is actually a political prisoner. Chen’s ordeal has made Chen an iconic figure for Taiwanese independence and reform of the ROC legal structure including the adoption of a jury trial system.
Chen Shui-bian has long been at odds with his successor, Ma Ying-jeou. Ma denies any role in Chen’s case and says he just lets the system operate without his interference.
Source: Michael Richardson - Boston Progressive Examiner
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