TAIPEI, May 15 (AP) -- An in-law of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has admitted she bought property stocks shortly before their value skyrocketed, but denied receiving insider information, a ruling party lawmaker said on Monday.

Huang Wei-che of the Democratic Progressive Party said Chien Shui-mien admitted buying the property shares after receiving "tips" from friends. Chien's son is married to Chen's daughter.

The opposition has accused Chien of insider trading, noting she reaped large profits by buying shares of Taiwan Development Corp. shortly before a bank consortium decided to bail out the ailing property firm last July.

Chien did not say whether she received tips from friends who worked at Taiwan Development or Changhwa Bank, the property firm's major shareholder which sold the shares to her, Huang said.

Changhwa is a member of the consortium that bailed out Taiwan Development.

"It would be all right if the friends were some stock analysts, but it could raise suspicion if they were insiders," Huang said.

Lawmaker Chiu Yi of the opposition Nationalist Party, says the president's son-in-law, Chao Chien-min, used his mother as a phantom buyer of the Taiwan Development stocks.

Chao made the purchase through his mother shortly after a meeting with the chairmen of Taiwan Development and Changhwa Bank, Chiu said.

He said Chao bought Taiwan Development shares at 3.58 New Taiwan dollar (11 US cents) per share last July -- one-fifth their current value. Chao sold some of the shares early but still reaped profits of more than NT$70 million (US$2.2 million, €1.75 million) in book value, he said.

Taiwan Development confirmed Chien's purchase.

This latest scandal follows recent allegations that Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, profited from insider trading and received vouchers from a department store after intervening in its sale.

Chen has said that his wife is innocent of the charges.

Amid the allegations over Chien's share purchases, the DPP said over the weekend that its Taipei headquarters were bugged. However, Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the party had no idea who was behind the action, or what their motives might have been.