He stands accused of corruption and has been put behind bars pending trial lest he attempt to collude with witnesses.
Now former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian's 16-day prison hunger strike has been revealed as a sham.
A security camera in his cell recorded him nibbling on snacks at night, a Taiwanese magazine reports.
Chen ate peanuts, crackers and chocolates while incarcerated at a suburban Taipei jail, Times Weekly said.
Chen said on November 12 that he had begun a hunger strike in protest at the 'political persecution' he said the case against him represented.
Four days later, he was taken to hospital suffering from an irregular heartbeat. After accepting glucose and saline injections, Chen said he had resumed his hunger strike upon his return to the jail on November 18.
He announced the end of the protest on November 27, when he ate a small bowl of porridge.
