20120920 Chen suffers risk of dementia without adequate medical treatment, doctor says
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Chen suffers risk of dementia without adequate medical treatment, doctor says

By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

Imprisoned former president Chen Shui-bian (³¯¤ô«ó) could develop dementia within six months if he is not given proper medical attention, a physician said yesterday. Visiting overseas human rights activists have also expressed concerns about Chen¡¦s medical welfare.

Chen, who has been out of prison for medical examinations since last Thursday, is suffering from a stutter induced by brain damage and could develop dementia within six months or a year, National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je (¬_¤å­õ) said yesterday.

Ko, who visited and diagnosed Chen in Taipei Prison, where he is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption, made the comments as he and Ketagalan Institute chief executive Cheng Sheu-shin (¾G²Q¤ß) yesterday appealed to the Control Yuan over the way in which the judicial system had dealt with Chen¡¦s deteriorating health.

The placing of political concerns before medical expertise by the Ministry of Justice is why the former president¡¦s health has deteriorated so much in prison, Ko said.

Meanwhile, a visiting delegation from the US-based Human Rights Action Center issued a statement on Monday expressing concerns about Chen¡¦s prison cell.

The delegation included Hans Wahl, a Paris-based human rights activist, and Harreld Dinkins, an expert on East and Southeast Asian affairs, neither of whom are affiliated with any political organization.

Chen¡¦s treatment in prison could only be compared to that given to high-risk offenders, Wahl said, adding that while Chen is now allowed access to a desk, he has to eat and sleep on the floor as well as endure inadequate sanitary facilities which are not normally found in modern democracies governed by the rule of law.

Chen¡¦s lack of regular contact with other inmates and very limited contact with the outside world also posed concerns, he said.

¡§Imprisonment is itself a punishment and should never be used for further punishment,¡¨ he said, adding that an advanced democracy should not ¡§allow itself to sink to meet only the lowest standards in its treatment of those it holds in its prison system.¡¨

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