The son-in-law of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was today found guilty of insider trading and sentenced to six years in prison in the latest of a series of scandals that have undermined Mr Chen and his independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Chao Chien-ming, who is married to Mr Chen's daughter, was also fined T$30 million (€695,000) following the verdict by a court in Taipei. Mr Chao plans to appeal.
Prosecutors charged him in July with insider trading over a property firm and were seeking an eight-year sentence and fine of T$30 million.
Mr Chao and four others were charged with trading Taiwan Development Corporation stock after receiving information about a loan for the company that could have influenced its share price and reaping over T$105 million in profits, prosecutors said.
The scandal was just one of several dogging Mr Chen, his wife and former aides. Those scandals have pushed the premier's popularity to record lows and tarnished the image of the DPP, formed 20 years ago on a clean government platform.
But in a surprising twist that revealed the polarised state of the island, the China-friendly opposition KMT nationalist party narrowly lost the mayor race to the DPP candidate earlier this month in the island's second biggest city, Kaohsiung.
Many had predicted the KMT would win the race despite the city's traditional DPP-tilt, signalling strong prospects for the party heading into 2008 presidential elections.
In the biggest of the other cases dogging Mr Chen, his wife, Wu Shu-chen, and three former presidential aides are facing corruption charges stemming from allegations of misuse of government funds.
Mr Chen has said he will step down if his wife is found guilty in that trial, which began earlier this month.