The wife of Taiwan ex-leader Chen Shui-bian was sentenced yesterday to a year in prison for perjury as the court passed out the first convictions in an unprecedented case against the former first family.

The Taipei district court also sentenced Chen's daughter Chen Hsing-yu, son Chen Chih-chung and son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, to six months in jail for perjury, according to Judge Wong Junming.

Diana Chen, former chairwoman for Taipei 101, another defendant who had refused to plead guilty, will serve a year and a half in prison because she failed to meet the criteria for granting the sentence remission and parole.

Wu was indicted for instigating perjury as she allegedly instructed her children to lie during a probe into embezzlement charges against both herself and her husband, the prosecutor said.

However, Wu Shu-jen's two-year sentence was immediately reduced to a year, in accordance with amnesty regulations initiated by her husband when he was Taiwan leader, and approved by parliament in 2007.

Under the law, any convicted person or individual who committed a crime before April 24, 2007 is eligible for remission in jail term.

"They are well educated and should have served as models for the people," court spokesman Huang Chun-ming told reporters, speaking of the Chen family.

"But their false testimony has wasted judicial resources and prevented the court from exercising justice."

In 2006, the Taiwan-based Anti-Corruption Investigation Center conducted an investigation of Chen's clan, including Wu Shu-jen, Chen Hsing-yu, Chen Chih-chung and Chao Chien-ming.

Illegal invoice write-off was detected in the process and the four were consequently summoned to testify.

On September 11, the court is scheduled to pass a verdict of corruption against the ex-leader.

Chen left office last year after serving the maximum term of eight years. He now stands accused of embezzling public funds, money laundering, accepting bribes on a land deal, influence peddling and forgery. He could face life in prison.

According to yesterday's verdict, the four defendants had pleaded guilty during the investigation and trial.

The ex-leader, who has been detained since December, has dismissed his lawyers and kept silent in recent court sessions in protest against his detention and trial.

He denies the charges and says the allegations against him and his families are a witch-hunt motivated and orchestrated by his mainland-friendly successor, Ma Ying-jeou.

AFP/ The Global Times