Ex-president Chen could be out of jail Monday afternoon at earliest
Central News Agency
2015-01-04 09:33 PM
Supporters of Chen Shui-bian rallying outside of Taichung Prison. CNA photo Jan. 4, 2014
Taipei, Jan. 4 (CNA) A decision on granting medical parole to jailed former President Chen Shui-bian will come at noon Monday, and if the decision is yes as is now widely anticipated, bureaucratic procedures mean he will be taking in a free breath of air in the afternoon at the earliest.
A 10-member assessment team, including Director Wu Hsien-chang of the Agency of Corrections, will made a decision on Chen's request by noon, the Ministry of Justice said Sunday. If the decision defies expectations and turns out a negative one, "an official letter will be immediately sent" to the former president, who is serving a 20-year jail term in Taichung Prison for corruption, and he will then be able to file an appeal with the court if he is not pleased with that answer, ministry officials said.
An affirmative decision would also immediately kick off a flurry of red tape: an official letter, which may be sent electronically or by fax, would be sent to Taichung Prison and the Taichung District Prosecutors Office. The prison and the prosecutors office would then inform Chen's family members, who are already prepared to take him home after six year behind bars, to complete procedures for posting a bond.
Once all these steps have been finished, the officials said, the prosecutors office would then issue a release notice that would allow them to free A-Bian. As the ailing Chen is preparing to leave prison behind for the time being, officials will have to do several things: clear his personal belongings, inform him of the "rules of release" which he must sign and remind him that the first parole will last only one month before an assessment of his condition is made.
Only after all the bureaucratic moves have been completed will the 64-year-old be a free man, at least to a certain degree, for the first time since shortly after his second term ended in 2008. During his month-long stay out of jail, prison officials and medical experts will check his health and if he is found to be in good shape toward the end of the parole, he will have to get back behind bars in Taichung.
If his health is found to be really not good enough to serve out the jail term, he could be granted another parole of between one and three months -- during which health examiners will check on his health at least once per month. Meanwhile, former Vice President Annette Lu, who had staged a hunger strike for an early release of her former boss, said she will visit Chen at the prison at 10:00 a.m. Monday.
Deputy Minister Chen Ming-tang (no relation to the former president) said Saturday Lu's protest, leading to her hospitalization Thursday after days of hunger strike, is not a factor that will be taken into consideration by the assessment team. Chen Shui-bian, president from 2000 to 2008, has served more than six years out of a 20-year sentence for corruption, and his health has been rapidly declining over the past few years with symptoms such as loss of motor control and incontinence. A team of doctors has recommended his release on medical parole given his worsening conditions.
(By Liu Shih-yi, Sofia Yeh and S.C. Chang)
