Former first lady Wu Shu-jen pleaded guilty to perjury charges at the Taiwan High Court Tuesday but asked for a reduction in the one year jail term meted out to her by the Taipei District Court. Her son Chen Chih-chung, daughter Chen Hsing-yu, and son-in-law Chao Chien-ming, each of whom had been sentenced to six months for perjury in the case, followed her suit at the same hearing. They were indicted July 17, 2008 on the grounds that Wu abetted her son, daughter and son-in-law to give false testimony to prosecutors during an investigation into the ex-first lady's alleged embezzlement of public funds. The prosecutors found that Wu used invoices provided by her children and Chao to claim reimbursement from the state affairs fund that was supposed to have been used for state affairs by her husband, ex-President Chen Shui-bian, during his 2000-2008 tenure. Wu then coached them to lie to the investigators and say that they got the invoices from purchases made for their parents or for dining with friends on behalf of their parents. Also indicted in the case was business tycoon Diana Chen, who was charged with lying during the trial of Wu and Chen Shui-bian by recanting her testimony that she oiled Wu's palm with NT$10 million (US$310,029) in return for a post in a state-controlled firm. Diana Chen was sentenced to one year and six months for perjury by the Taipei District Court. All five appealed, on the grounds that their jail terms are more than they deserve. The judges presiding over Tuesday's hearing asked the defendants to submit written requests for the sentences they felt to be appropriate at the next court hearing, on an as yet unspecified date. Diana Chen pleaded guilty in a Taiwan High Court hearing the previous day and asked for clemency. The case stems from Wu and her husband's corruption, forgery and money laundering, for which they were each given life sentences in a separate trial by the Taipei District Court. They deny the charges, claiming that they are politically motivated, and have appealed against the sentences at the Taiwan High Court. 