He lodged the appeal after Taipei District Court reversed its previous ruling and sent the pro-independence former leader back to the Tucheng detention centre outside the capital, his lawyers told reporters.

Chen was initially detained 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 him to be put back in custody, succeeding the second time around after claiming he could collude with the other suspects and destroy evidence or flee the island if allowed to remain free.

Lawyer Cheng Wen-lung said on Monday politics had interfered with the course of justice when his client had been jailed again.

'We disagree with the ruling handed down by judge Tsai Shou-hsun which we think itself is a violation of the law,' he said.

'We think it is unnecessary to continue to detain him, given how he had acted during the days after he was released by the district court's first ruling.' The start of the appeal process was the latest twist in a long-running saga involving the former leader.

Chen, who left office in May 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.

Chen, 58, 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 NT$104 million (S$4.6 million) in public funds and accepting a bribe of about US$12 million (S$17.66 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 she did so without his knowledge.

Chen's next court appearance is slated for Jan 19, a court official said. -- AFP