Taiwan’s former President Chen Shui-bian found guilty of corruption

[BBC] Taipei District Court convicted Mr Chen on six charges and Mrs Wu on seven charges. The were also fined $15 million.

"Chen Shui-bian and Wu Shu-chen were sentenced to life in prison because Chen has done grave damage to the country and Wu because she was involved in corruption deals as the first lady," said court spokesman Huang Chun-ming.

The Trial

Mr Chen and his wife were both sentenced to life for embezzling $3.15m (£1.9m) from a special presidential fund.

They received lesser sentences on the charges related to 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 already been sentenced on 2 September to one year in prison for perjury for asking her children to lie in court.

Their son and daughter-in-law received sentences ranging from 20-30 months for money laundering. Other relatives received suspended sentences. Two former advisors were given sentences of 16 and 20 years in prison.

The case, involving revelations of corruption at the highest levels, has gripped the nation, says the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei.