TAIPEI - TAIWAN'S high court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by former president Chen Shui-bian against his detention on corruption charges pending trial.

The court found a previous ruling by a lower court to detain Chen valid on the ground that he 'could destroy and tamper with the evidence and collude with other suspects or witnesses,' it said in a statement.

Chen's lawyers lodged the appeal on Monday, one week after he was sent back to a detention centre outside the capital. The massive graft cases have also implicated his family.

The former president was initially locked up for a month after his November arrest on embezzlement and money laundering charges. He was later released after an appeal from his lawyers and spent two weeks at liberty.

Prosecutors twice applied for Chen to be put back in custody, succeeding on the second occasion after claiming he could collude with the other suspects and destroy evidence or flee the island if allowed to remain free.

Chen, who left office in May last year after serving a maximum two terms as president, is the island's first former leader to be detained on criminal charges and faces life in prison if convicted on all counts.

The pro-independence politician has repeatedly insisted that the charges against him are politically motivated, accusing President Ma Ying-jeou's Beijing-friendly government of leading a witch hunt.

The former president and his wife Wu Shu-chen are accused of embezzling TW$104 million (S$4.6 million) in public funds and accepting a bribe of about US$12 million (S$17.7 million) in a land purchase deal.

Prosecutors also allege that Wu took a kickback of US$2.7 million in a construction project.

Their son and daughter-in-law have also been charged with money laundering.

Chen, who came to power eight years ago pledging to fight corruption, has admitted his wife wired US$20 million abroad but said the money was from past campaign funds and that she did so without his knowledge. -- AFP