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Chen Shui-bian
suicide attempt confirmed by medical team during prison visit
April 24, 2013 By: Michael Richardson
http://www.examiner.com/article/chen-shui-bian-suicide-attempt-confirmed-by-medical-team-during-prison-visit
Dr. C.D. Kuo found a 13 cm red
scar on Chen Shui-bian's neck
Credits: Mary Loan
Chen Shui-bian¡¦s suicide attempt last week
was confirmed by two members of Chen¡¦s volunteer medical team who visited the
former president at Taichung Prison. Dr. C.D. Kuo and Dr. Chen Shuen-sheng gave
a detailed interview account on Chen¡¦s current situation on April 23. The
doctors conducted a physical examination and found a 13-cm red scar around
Chen¡¦s neck, confirming his attempted suicide when he learned that he would be
moved back to prison. The Ministry of Justice has refused to admit the suicide
attempt was linked to the prison transfer.
Chen Shui-bian was the president of the Republic of China in-exile from 2000 to
2008. Chen was detained soon after leaving office and later convicted following
a controversial no-jury trial for alleged corruption and was locked in a tiny
punishment cell without even a bed at Taipei Prison. Subjected to 24-hour per
day fluorescent lights and nearly constant confinement in the tiny cell, Chen
was denied requested medical attention. Chen¡¦s health deteriorated from the
harsh conditions and he was moved to Veteran¡¦s Hospital to a locked psychiatric
unit where he was held for half a year until the sudden pre-dawn move to
Taichung Prison last week.
The doctors found that Taichung Prison does not have the medical records of Chen
Shui bian. The seven-month medical record of Chen at Veteran¡¦s Hospital in
Taipei was not transferred. Chen was not treated as a patient because he was
neither discharged from the hospital nor admitted by the prison clinic. No
standard medical procedures were carried out.
According to Dr. Kuo, no medical care was provided to Chen Shui-bian in the four
days after he was transferred to Taichung Prison. The Taipei Prison staff told
Chen that Taichung Veteran¡¦s Hospital would take over his medical care and the
deputy director of Taichung hospital had led a team to visit Chen, but it was a
mere visit, and no medical checkups were performed.
Taichung Prison has no medical staff for psychiatric care or sleep apnea, two of
Chen Shui-bian¡¦s primary problems. Chen has stopped taking any medicine because
he thinks that he no longer has a doctor; therefore, he does not know who to
listen to.
Dr. Chen Shuen-sheng performed an examination to check Chen Shui-bian's oxygen
level in his blood. The doctor found that Chen¡¦s oxygen level fluctuated a lot.
The level could reach 98, as a normal person, but dropped to 84 briefly when he
was emotional. In general, below 90 is considered a medical emergency. The sleep
apnea symptom of Chen is also still significant and presents a constant danger.
A sleep test was planned at Veteran¡¦s Hospital but was unable to be carried out
because Chen was transferred unexpectedly.
The Taichung Prison clinic does not provide any full-time doctor, pharmacist, or
psychiatrist. None of the guards or prisoners who will be watching Chen
Shui-bian has medical training. Chen will continue to be kept in isolation,
unable to visit or interact with other prisoners.
All of Chen Shui-bian¡¦s doctors, those at Veteran¡¦s Hospital and his volunteer
medical team, oppose the prison setting. Chen¡¦s primary hospital doctor, Chou
Yuan-hua, who initially reported Chen¡¦s suicide attempt, warned at a Legislative
Yuan hearing in early April that return to prison could lead to suicide.
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