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A-bian needs
psychiatric care: hospital
RECOMMENDATION: Jailed former president Chen
Shui-bian is suffering from severe depression and should receive specialized
treatment in a hospital, a psychiatrist said
By Rich Chang and Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporters, with CNA
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
caucus whip Ker Chien-ming, third left in front row, and other DPP lawmakers
hold a press conference in the legislature yesterday in which they called on
President Ma Ying-jeou to let former president Chen Shui-bian out of prison for
psychiatric treatment.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Saying that jailed former president Chen
Shui-bian (陳水扁) has severe depression, Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH)
yesterday recommended that Chen be transferred to a hospital with a specialized
psychiatric department for further treatment.
Chou Yuan-hua (周元華), a psychiatrist at the hospital, told a press conference
held jointly with Taipei Prison to explain Chen’s medical situation that Chen
has severe depression and anxiety, and that many depression sufferers can also
have physical symptoms such as headaches and chest tightness.
The hospital added that a speech impediment from which Chen is suffering is
caused by major depression, rather than a stroke or dementia.
Chou said the former head of state needs to be hospitalized to receive treatment
for his depression, a course of treatment that can take from nine months to two
years.
He said that while the TVGH has the ability to treat people with depression, the
doctor-patient relationship is as important as the medical treatment, adding
that the medical environment and family support should also be taken into
account when choosing a hospital.
The hospital therefore recommended that Chen be transferred to a specialized
psychiatric hospital, he added.
Chen, serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption in Taipei Prison, has
been hospitalized since Sept. 21 and his family has on several occasions
expressed doubt over the credibility of the hospital because it falls under the
government’s Veterans Affairs Commission.
In response to the hospital’s statement, Taipei Prison Deputy Warden Su
Ching-chun (蘇清俊) said the prison would evaluate every possibility carefully
after it receives the complete test results and diagnoses from the hospital.
He said that if Chen cannot be treated in prison and has to go to a hospital, it
would probably be the Taipei City Hospital’s Songde branch or the Taoyuan Mental
Hospital.
Su added Chen’s condition does not qualify him to be granted medical parole.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers again
appealed to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to grant Chen medical parole, saying:
“President Ma has come to a critical juncture to make the decision.”
It is “an eminent problem” that both the governing and opposition parties have
to deal with, because Chen Shui-bian is “in a critical health condition,” DPP
caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said.
The decision Ma makes would determine whether Chen can carry on living, Ker
said, urging Ma to give Taiwan a chance and Chen an opportunity to live.
At this juncture in history, Ma could make a decision that can reflect concerns
related to medical humanitarianism, the dignity of a former head of state,
social harmony and the possibility of ending the political division in the
country, Ker said.
DPP Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) said Premier Sean Chen (陳?) supported the
appeal that Chen should be granted medical parole.
“I saw Premier Chen this morning in the legislative building. He extended his
hands to me and told me that he discussed the matter with [Legislative] Speaker
Wang [Jin-pyng (王金平)] last week,” Hsu said.
DPP Legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山) said he also had a chance to talk to Sean Chen
yesterday and he received the same information from Sean Chen as Hsu did.
At a separate setting yesterday, when approached by press for verification,
Premier Chen denied that he supported A-bian receiving medical parole, saying
that he supported a review of the existing rules regarding privileges, including
medical care, granted to convicted heads of state under the Statute Governing
Preferential Treatment to Retired Presidents and Vice Presidents (卸任總統副總統禮遇條例).
The Executive Yuan later issued a statement saying that DPP lawmakers brought up
the Chen Shui-bian case with Sean Chen in which the premier, in response, said
he supported a comprehensive review of the privileges system, but did not
mention any specific case.
Later yesterday, in response to a question by DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋)
on the legislative floor during a question-and-answer session, the premier
declined to offer his “personal views” on whether Chen Shui-bian should be
granted medical parole.
“I consistently hold the view that a decision on medical parole is based on
science and law. It is not a political decision. If I were prison warden of
Taipei Prison, I would demand a detailed health report on [Chen Shui-bian] from
the Taipei Veterans General Hospital and deal with the matter in accordance with
the law,” he said.
He added that, in line with the Prison Act (監獄行刑法), whether to grant medical
parole to an inmate is a decision made by the director of the Agency of
Corrections of the Ministry of Justice, currently Wu Sen-Chang (吳憲璋).
Pressed by Lee on his stance, the premier said he could not reveal his personal
views, to refrain from influencing Wu in making a decision on the case.
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