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Taipei court suspends former Taiwan leader's trial over health concerns

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Taipei District Court announced on Wednesday suspension of the trial on a money laundering charge of former Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian because of concerns about his health.

The court cited a medical report that said Chen, who has been on medical parole since Jan. 5, is suffering from several illnesses, including cranial nerve degeneration, sleep apnea, incontinence, severe depression and Parkinson's syndrome.

In Taiwan, if a defendant is unable to attend hearings due to illness proceeding should be suspended until the defendant is able to attend.

Prosecutors filed the charge in January which alleged that Chen was involved in laundering money after he took a bribe of 10 million New Taiwan Dollars (326,800 U.S. dollars) from former Taipei Financial Center Corp chairperson Diana Chen to help her secure an appointment.

Chen was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a list of crimes, including corruption in 2010. He was released from Taichung Prison on medical parole in January after serving more than six years of his sentence. Endi