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Inmate Chen Shui-bian does not meet the requirement for medical treatment on bail: MOJ's explanation
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The MOJ Correctional Department has always given first consideration to Mr. Chen Shi-bian's health. In keeping with the spirit of social harmony and rational professionalism, we have constantly taken note of Mr. Chen's life in the prison. His health, in particular, has been given good medical care. The particulars of the care are shown in the attached Table 1.
Paragraph 1 of Article 58 of the Prison Act provides that only when an inmate's illness cannot be properly treated in the prison will the prison authority consider referring him or her under escort to an out-of-prison medical facility for treatment, subject to MOJ approval. This is a matter of law and medical professionalism rather than a political consideration. Statistics show, currently there are 22 inmates who have been bailed out for medical treatment, for their illness was too critical to be treated in the prison (see Table 2).
On May 23, 2012, the medical team of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkow examined Chen's heath with sophisticated instruments and bade him to treat his illness with medication. On July 20, the hospital dispatched three specialists to the prison to conduct further examination. Among them, a neurologist talked with Chen for as long as an hour and then interviewed the wardens who had contact with Chen every day. The doctor also inspected Chen's prison ward. Neurologist Hsu Shih-chieh examined Chen's mental conditions in different aspects and drew the preliminary conclusion that Chen had no obvious mental illness that would need treatment with neurological medication. Hence, Chen does not have what Doctor Chen Chiao-chi has said, based on his interview with Chen, that Chen has "post-traumatic stress syndrome or "major depression disorder."
The Taipei Prison has carefully evaluated Chen's illness based on the examination and diagnosis as shown in Table 3 and concluded that his illness is still within the prison ability of treatment and, therefore, the case does not meet the requirement of medical treatment on bail. The prison will continue to pay close attention to Chen's heath and his medical requirement and give him follow-up examinations for his good health. Acting on Chen's application, the prison has embarked on the arrangement for sending him back to the hospital for examination and treatment. Besides, the prison will invite specialists to examine him on August 23 and 27. respectively. We hope the social public will give due respect to the diagnosis made in the past by medical workers based on their professionalism.