A local court of first instance in Taipei announced a verdict of "not guilty" on Tuesday for Former Kuomintang (KMT) party chairman Ma Ying-jeou in the special fund case.

Ma was accused of misusing more than 11 million Taiwan dollars (US$330,000) in expense funds during his tenure as mayor of Taipei.

Ma resigned as chairman of the KMT, Taiwan's leading opposition party,after being indicted on Feb. 13, but declared that he would run for the 2008 Taiwan leadership election. The expense funds, also known as special allowance funds, are allocated by the Taiwan authorities to executive officers. Official receipts are required for half of the funds. The spending of the other half only requires the signature of the official.

(Xinhua News Agency August 14, 2007)