TAIPEI - Taiwan prosecutors may file fresh charges against former president Chen Shui-bian who is being detained on graft charges, a report said Monday, as a court rejected his latest bid to be released on bail.

Prosecutors said they suspected the former leader had embezzled at least 300,000 US dollars (S$438,510) from the funds the government had budgeted for his 11 overseas trips, the Chinese-language China Times said.

They have also been investigating his role in 11 controversial foreign aid projects designed to cement Taiwan's diplomatic ties with its allies, it said.

An initial investigation found that Chen had ordered the foreign ministry to pay 20 million US dollars to an pro-independence group in the United States under what the ministry referred to as a "Latin America special project," the paper said.

All the charges have been dismissed by Chen, it said.

The prosecutors' spokesman declined to comment on the report, which came as Taipei District Court was considering Chen's third appeal for release on bail.

The court later rejected his bail application as "the charge against Chen is a felony... and he may flee," court spokesman Huang Chun-ming told reporters.

Outside, a dozen supporters protested demanding his immediate release.

Legislator Kao Chih-peng of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which Chen once led, confirmed that the former leader had fractured his right foot.

"He has had his right foot immobilised with a splint since Saturday," Kao said, adding that Chen may have suffered the injury while jogging in jail last week.

The DPP, which says Chen's detention violates human rights, has launched a drive to demand his release.

The court has twice previously rejected Chen's applications for bail on the grounds that he could collude with other suspects and destroy evidence or flee the island - claims that he has dismissed.

There are no limits under Taiwanese law on how long he can be detained. The former president has refused to speak in recent court sessions in an apparent protest against his detention and trial.

Chen, who left office last year after serving a maximum eight-year term, is accused of embezzlement, money laundering, accepting bribes, influence peddling and forgery.

He denies the charges and insists the allegations against him and his family are politically motivated and orchestrated by his China-friendly successor, President Ma Ying-jeou.