Taiwan official faces quake charge

Billions of dollars have been donated to the relief fund

A Taiwan county chief has been charged with the embezzlement of relief funds for the victims of the 1999 earthquake which killed more than 2,000 people and left thousands homeless.

Prosecutors have demanded a 20-year jail sentence for Peng Pai-Hsien, commissioner of Nantou county, who is accused of misappropriating nearly $400,000 (about 15m Taiwan dollars).

Six other officials and 10 property developers have also been charged for their role in the corruption scandal.

Earthquake victims say that inefficient local authorities and corruption have been hampering the reconstruction effort.

Temporary camps

Billions of dollars have been donated.

Mr Peng, whose supporters gathered outside the court in a show of support, has denied the charges.

Nantou - some 300km (186 miles) south of the capital Taipei - was the epicentre of the earthquake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale.

Some 50,000 buildings were wrecked across the island, causing many to seek refuge in temporary camps.

Shortly after the disaster, officials in Taiwan admitted that avoidable mistakes were made during the operation to rescue people trapped

President Chen Shui-bian, who took office last May, has stepped up his crackdown on "black gold", or political corruption, to bolster the government's popularity.