Jailed ex-Taiwan president applies for parole over 'rapidly worsening' health

[Muslera]

Jailed ex-Taiwan president applies for parole over 'rapidly worsening' health

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 10 December, 2014, 2:03pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 11 December, 2014, 6:50am

Kyodo in Taipei

Taiwan's jailed former President Chen Shui-bian has developed a stutter, which may be a symptom of a brain dysfunction, doctors say. Photo: Reuters

Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, serving a 20-year prison term for corruption, has reapplied for medical parole after doctors said his health was rapidly deteriorating.

Chen’s office said that Chen “requires 24-hour care and is not fit for standing trial” and that Chen should “leave the current environment and receive the care at home”, citing the recommendation made by the Taichung Veterans General Hospital on November 4.

His office said the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou should grant Chen medical parole by the end of this year.

The move came on the heels of the Ministry of Justice’s announcement Monday that Chen’s request of medical parole filed in June this year had been denied.

Justice Minister Luo Ying-shay said on Monday that Chen could appeal for the approval of medical parole or reapply for medical parole if there are changes to Chen’s health condition.

Should a reapplication be filed, Luo said they would consider including physicians recommended by Chen’s family on the health examination team, whose recommendation would be used as a reference for Chen’s reapplication.

Luo’s remarks were seen by some as a goodwill gesture extended by the Ma administration towards Chen.

Chen’s former request has been denied on the grounds that the former president still “keeps a regular schedule, eats and drinks normally, meets friends and relatives regularly and receives proper treatment for his illness”.

Apart from sleep apnea, the 64-year-old former president has been suffering from depression and a deterioration of brain functions.

Chen has also developed a stutter, which doctors said might be linked to his mental and physical condition and could be managed if his high blood pressure, sleep apnea and depression are alleviated.

Before the ministry’s announcement, newly elected local chiefs of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party have jointly urged the Ma administration to grant Chen medical parole on Wednesday, Human Rights Day, claiming it would help facilitate reconciliation between the ruling and opposition camps.

Taking advantage of the momentum, former Vice-President Annette Lu and Chen’s son led around 200 supporters to protest outside Peide Hospital Prison in Greater Taichung where the former president is serving his prison sentence.

Lu, who was vice-president during Chen’s eight-year in office, threatened to stage a hunger strike in front of the Presidential Office if Chen is not released on medical parole before Christmas day.

Saying “anything untoward could happen to Chen at any moment,” Lu said, “No one could bear the responsibility for the serious consequences.”

Chen has said that his incarceration is a political vendetta by the ruling Nationalist Party-led government to punish him for his Taiwan independence stance and to please China.

Chen began serving his sentence in December 2010, making him the first former head of state to be jailed in Taiwan.

He ended the Kuomintang’s more than 50-year rule in 2000. After eight years in power, his DPP lost both the presidential and legislative polls in 2008.