http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8250099.stm
Taiwan's former President Chen Shui-bian has
been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of
corruption by a court in Taipei.
Mr Chen was charged with embezzlement, taking bribes and money
laundering, involving a total of $15m (£9m) while in office from
2000-2008.
Mr Chen had denied the charges, saying they were politically
motivated.
His wife, Wu Shu-chen, already jailed for perjury in the case,
was also sentenced to life for corruption.
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The two were accused of embezzling $3.15m (£1.9m) from a special
presidential fund and laundering it through Swiss banks.
They were also accused of accepting at least $9m in bribes from
a Taiwanese company to help it sell a piece of land to the
government and of accepting nearly $3m more in kickbacks for
helping a contractor gain a government project.
Mrs Wu had been sentenced on 2 September to one year in prison
for perjury for asking her children to lie in court.
Nine other accused, including Mr Chen's son and daughter-in-law,
have pleaded guilty to some charges related to the case.
The case gripped the nation, correspondents say, with many
expecting a guilty verdict but some believing it was political
revenge on the part of the new ruling party.
