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Taiwan ex-leader gets additional jail sentence

Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian waves as he arrives at the Taiwan High Court in Taipei on August 26. Chen, already jailed for bribery, has been sentenced to a further additional two years and 10 months on separate charges of embezzlement and money laundering

Taiwan's former president Chen Shiu-bian, already jailed for bribery, was sentenced Friday to an additional two years and 10 months on separate charges of embezzlement and money laundering. Chen, who headed the island's government between 2000 and 2008, is serving a jail term of 17 years and six months on two bribery convictions in a sprawling corruption case that saw his wife Wu Shu-chen get the same sentence. The high court on Friday sentenced the couple to an extra two years for money laundering, and ordered them to return $6.8 million and Tw$100 million they had pocketed in domestic and overseas deals. It also handed down a 10-month sentence for forgery in a case related to embezzlement of state funds. A group of supporters shouted "Chen Shui-bian innocent" and "President, take care", as Chen entered the court room in downtown Taipei. Chen has dismissed his corruption conviction as a political vendetta by the China-friendly Kuomintang government for his pro-independence stance while in power.