Taiwan Ex-Leader Chen Shui-bian's Jail Term Cut to 20 Years

Taiwan's high court on Friday upheld corruption convictions for the island's former leader Chen Shui-bian and his wife, but reduced their life sentences to 20 years in jail.

Taiwan's high court on Friday upheld corruption convictions for the island's former leader Chen Shui-bian and his wife, but reduced their life sentences to 20 years in jail.

The couple' son and daughter-in-law were sentenced to one year in prison.

The original sentences were changed because the amount of special presidential funds embezzled by Chen was much smaller than what the district court had described, said the court.

Chen, however, expressed his dissatisfaction upon the sentence through his lawyer Shi Yilin, claiming that he was innocent and said he would appeal the verdict.

The court was also considering whether to end Chen's detention and release him on bail. He has been in custody for more than 500 days. However, after two hours of heated debate, the court did not announce its decision and Chen was sent back to the detention center.

When questioned about the two parties' attitude towards Chen's detention, Cai Wei, a professor of Taiwan's "National Cheng-Chi University," said he believed that nobody wanted him to be free, describing him as "restless."