A former aide of Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has been sentenced to 12 years in jail on corruption charges.

Chen Che-nan, former deputy secretary general of Chen Shuibian's office,was jailed for cheating businessman Liang Po-hsun out of six million New Taiwan dollars (185,000 U.S. dollars).

Chen took the money in return for offering to persuade a judge not to convict Liang of fraud, local media has reported.

Prosecutors originally called for an eight-year sentence for Chen, but on Wednesday the court handed down a 12-year term, saying the crime was more serious and tarnished Taiwan's judicial image, local media said.

Source: Xinhuaing security situation in Iraq as some seven car bombs exploded across the war-torn countries on Wednesday, killing at least 29 people and wounding dozens of others.

Source: Xinhua