THE Taiwanese government has obtained a default judgment against a Singaporean who was one of the intermediaries in the diplomatic fund scandal.
In September 2006, the government transferred US$30 million (S$45 million) to the OCBC account of Wu Shih-tsai and businessman Ching Chi-ju, 64, in Singapore to be offered to Papua New Guinea.
Later when diplomatic efforts failed, the government chased the duo for the money.
At an appointed meeting that year, Mr Ching, who holds an American passport, did not appear.
Last year, Wu handed a forged letter to then Foreign Affairs Minister James Huang through the minister's aide to mislead them into thinking that the money was still in the OCBC account.
The Taiwanese government sued the duo in April this year to recover the missing funds in the Singapore High Court.
On Wednesday, the plaintiff's lawyer, Mr Loo Choon Chiaw, who was in court to apply to strike out certain parts of the defence, disclosed that his client had obtained a default judgment against Wu, who did not enter an appearance.
Wu, 55, who is in custody in Taiwan, will be sentenced on Thursday for forgery and making false claims.
Mr Ching, who is represented by Mr Lawrence Lee, will contest the suit.
