Taiwan high court convicts president's son in-law

TAIPEI, June 26 (Reuters) A high court found the son-in-law of Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian guilty of insider trading and sentenced him to seven years in prison today,upholding a lower court guilty verdict that shook Chen's administration.

The high court added to the Taipei district court's six-year sentence for Chao Chien-ming, because the amount of money involved exceeded T100 million dollars, court spokesman Wen Yau-yuan told a news conference.

It upheld the lower court's T million fine against Chao, who is married to Chen's daughter.

Chao did not appear in court today. He has 10 days to file an appeal with Taiwan's Supreme Court.

Chao and four others were charged with trading Taiwan Development Corp.'s stock after receiving information about a loan for the company that could have influenced its share price. The four made a combined profit of T105 million dollars from trading the company's stock after receiving the information.

Prosecutors first charged Chao in July 2006 with insider trading and sought an eight-year sentence plus the fine. In December, the district court then handed him the six-year sentence.

The case is one of several involving Chen's family and aides.

Chen's wife Wu Shu-chen and three former presidential aides face corruption charges stemming from allegations that they misused the presidential office's confidential state affairs fund.

Chen, who has been in office since 2000, faces prosecution for the same charges once he leaves office next May due to term limits.

The cases have affected Chen's popularity and the image of his party, which formed 21 years ago on a clean government platform.

REUTERS SLD ND1142