Taipei - Taiwan's former president Chen Shui-bian was remanded into custody Wednesday after his arrest on graft allegations, becoming first former president to be detained in Taiwan's history. The Taipei District Court ordered Chen detained at about 7 am (2300 GMT Tuesday) following an overnight court hearing, which opened after his detention by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, which questioned Chen Tuesday.
The judges wanted Chen detained because his alleged offenses are all major crimes - each carrying a maximum five-year sentence - and out of fear that he might flee abroad.
Chen, 57, who became president in 2000 and left office in May, faces allegations including embezzlement of government funds, money laundering, fraud and taking bribes.
Chen was taken from the District Court to the Taipei Penitentiary in suburban Taipei. A trial is expected to be held before the end of the year, cable television channel CTI said.
Chen's defence lawyer Cheng Wen-lung said that Chen was willing to be detained because he knows that the case is political persecution and wanted to "carry the cross" for the Taiwan people.
"Chen denied the allegations but gave up the right to appeal to show his protest," Cheng told reporters.
The ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) urged the Taiwan public to trust the judicial system.
"We hope the whole nation will trust our judiciary system and allow the court to give him a fair trial. We also ask Chen Shui-bian to have the courage to stand trial," KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung said.
The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) denounced Chen's arrest as political.
"Chen Shui-bian is unlikely to flee abroad, so is there the need to humiliate him and break Taiwan people's heart? When the judicial system is used for persecution, chaos will break out. President Ma Ying-jeou must shoulder all consequences," DPP lawmaker Koh Chien- ming said.
Chen, a former lawyer, was a defence attorney for political dissidents during the 1970-80 White Terror days under KMT rule. He helped found the pro-independence DPP and became a Taipei city councillor and lawmaker and Taipei mayor.
He became president in 2000 when the DPP won the election, ending the KMT's five-decade rule of Taiwan. He was re-elected for a second term in 2004.
The KMT, the party of the former Chinese mainlanders who fled to Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War in 1949, swept back to power in 2008, amid the Chen government's inability to improve Taiwan's economy, along with corruption scandals and strained Taiwan- China ties.
The allegations Chen faces include embezzling millions of US dollars in government money, transferring those funds to overseas bank accounts opened by Chen's family members, Chen's wife, Wu Shu- Chen, and soliciting bribes.
In August, after the Swiss government notified Taiwan of suspected money laundering by Chen's relatives, Chen admitted that his wife had sent some of his election campaign money into overseas bank accounts, "which was against the law," but that she had not told him.
Chen denied embezzling from the government, and he launched a campaign to win sympathy from Taiwan natives, claiming persecution by President Ma Ying-jeou and vowing to fight to clear his name and defend Taiwan's independence, and saying that he might run in the 2012 presidential election.
