TAIPEI - A COURT sentenced the former chairman of Taiwan's Eastern Group on Wednesday to 18 years in jail for his role in one of the biggest financial scandals on the island.

Wang Lin-ling was found guilty of breach of trust and violation of banking and securities exchange rules in several financial irregularities, including embezzlement of funds from The Chinese Bank, a defunct subsidiary of the Rebar Group.

'Wang had repeatedly denied his involvement in the scandal in trial and shown no remorse. So the court handed down the punishment,' said a spokesman for the Taipei district court.

Wang, the founder of the Eastern Group whose businesses include real estate, department stores, media and telecommunications, was also fined 700 million Taiwan dollars (S$30 million).

Among more than 100 people indicted for their involvement in the scandal, Wang's brothers Wang Ling-yi and Wang Ling-tai were sentenced to 20 years in jail and fines of one billion dollars and seven million dollars respectively.

Wang's father Wang You-theng, the founder of the Rebar Group conglomerate, and Wang You-theng's wife Chin Shih-ying fled to China and later to the United States in December 2006 before the group's financial troubles came to light.

Prosecutors sought a 30-year jail term for Wang You-theng and a 28-year sentence for his wife, a US citizen, but since they have not stood trial, Wednesday's court ruling did not include them.

The Rebar crisis became public in early January 2007 when two of its units filed for bankruptcy protection.

The move sparked a run on the then Rebar-owned Chinese Bank, whose customers rushed to withdraw some 50 billion dollars in just a few days despite the government's repeated appeals for calm.

The government took control of The China Bank to stop it collapsing from the withdrawals, before HSBC won a bid to acquire the bank in December 2007. -- AFP