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Chen Shui-bian now prisoner No. 1020
CAREFUL SELECTIONFormer president Chen Shui-bian¡¦s new
cellmate ¡X a fraud convict ¡X was chosen to help take care of him and help him
adapt to prison life
Staff Writer, with CNA
Supporters of former president Chen Shui-bian
outside the Taipei Prison in Taoyuan County¡¦s Gueishan Township yesterday hold
up placards protesting what they say is a lack of fairness by the judiciary.
Photo: Chou Min-hong, Taipei Times
Former president Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) will now be identified
by his personal identification number, 1020, as he began serving his prison
sentence at Taipei Prison on Thursday after being convicted on corruption
charges.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (³¯«F¦m) visited Chen
Shui-bian yesterday morning and said she was shocked when to see the former
president with his head shaved in accordance with prison regulations for
inmates.
Chen Shui-bian was more calm than her, Chen Ting-fei said, saying that he was
the one who comforted her, noting that prior to his transfer to the prison in
Gueishan Township (Àt¤s), Taoyuan County, Chen Shui-bian had been detained for
about 700 days at the Taipei Detention Center in Tucheng City (¤g«°), Taipei
County, so he had actually just changed location.
¡§It¡¦s all about politics, not justice,¡¨ Chen Ting-fei quoted Chen Shui-bian as
saying.
Local media reported that when asked by a prison officer about his past
experience ¡X a routine question for the purpose of arranging suitable work for
inmates ¡X Chen Shui-bian replied, ¡§I have served as president¡¨ and said his
field of expertise was ¡§administration.¡¨
Chen Shui-bian appeared calm during his first day in prison and ate all the food
he was served for his first dinner there, according to a prison officer. The
meal consisted of rice, stewed ribs with herbs, fried dwarf beans, tofu miso
soup and a coconut tart.
It was arranged that he would share a 1.2 ping (3.96m2) cell with another
inmate. Prison officials said the former president¡¦s cellmate was convicted of
fraud and has a mild temperament and no political inclinations.
The officials promised that the man ¡§will not lose his temper¡¨ even if Chen
Shui-bian annoys him every day.
According to sources familiar with prison affairs, the man was carefully
selected to help take care of the former president and help him quickly adapt to
prison life.
A senior judge said Chen Shui-bian¡¦s time in prison would probably amount to 17
years. This was calculated based on a 10 percent reduction of his total 19-year
sentence for accepting bribes in the Longtan (Às¼æ) land deal and the appointment
of a chairman at Taipei Financial Center Corp. The time he spent at the Taipei
Detention Center could also be counted toward the sentences.
Chen Shui-bian¡¦s wheelchair-bound wife, Wu Shu-jen (§d²Q¬Ã), who was also sentenced
to a combined 19 years in the same cases, will likely be ordered next week to
report to prosecutors in preparation for imprisonment.
In an interview with ERA News, former vice president Annette Lu (§f¨q½¬) said that
Thursday marked the most embarrassing and miserable point in Chen Shui-bian¡¦s
life.
She said that the former president¡¦s imprisonment was a tragedy for him, his
family and Taiwan¡¦s democracy. She also argued that even if Chen Shui-bian were
at fault, he should not have been made to take all the blame.
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