《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Ministry awaits parole report on Chen Shui-bian

RED TAPE: The Taichung Prison said a medical team unanimously recommends that Chen be paroled, but its report has a long way to go before it is approved

/ Staff writer, with CNA

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Amid reports that former president Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁） might be granted medical parole and released from Taichung Prison soon, the Ministry of Justice’s Agency of Corrections yesterday said it has not received from prison authorities the report by Taichung Veterans General Hospital recommending that he be paroled.

An ad hoc medical assessment team met on Monday for the third time to assess Chen’s health and yesterday relayed its unanimous decision that he be granted parole to officials at Taichung Prison, where he is serving a 20-year sentence for corruption.

The team members said they felt Chen’s medical problems could not be properly treated in jail. However, their proposal still has to be submitted to the Agency of Corrections for approval.

Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang （陳明堂） yesterday said that no timetable has been set for Chen’s medical parole application to be completed.

The ministry said the 15-member medical team made an initial recommendation. The Taichung hospital then compiled a report on the matter and sent it to the prison, before submitting a proposal to the Agency of Corrections.

If the agency grants Chen parole, the necessary documents will be sent to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office for approval, in line with parole regulations.

Chen Ming-tang said that if the former president is released, his parole period will be limited to one month and when that time is about to end, the prison would dispatch officials to check on his condition.

If he has not improved, the ministry would assess whether to extend the parole period by one to three months, he said.

The ex-president’s family and supporters were riled by what they said were deliberate moves by the ministry to use bureaucratic regulations and technicalities to make the process as long as possible.

Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） spokesman Huang Di-ying （黃帝穎） said the medical team reached a consensus and urged the ministry to respect it and “not use red tape to postpone it.”

DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling （管碧玲）, who visited Chen Shui-bian yesterday, said the former president was restless because he feared the report might be changed before it is sent to the ministry.

Former vice president Annette Lu （呂秀蓮）, who began a hunger strike on Sunday to push for Chen Shui-bian’s parole, said that if he is not released by today she would stage a sit-in at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.

A group of Chen Shui-bian’s supporters gathered outside Taichung Prison yesterday to wait for news of his release.

Chen Shui-bian began serving his sentence on Nov. 11, 2010, but had been detained for nearly two years prior to that as the cases against him were processed.

He is said to be suffering from depression, brain degeneration, trembling hands and urinary incontinence, among other things.（Additional reporting by Jason Pan）

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES