Traffic jam delays jailed ex-Taiwan president's medical parole until next month
Chen Shui-bian remains behind bars over the New Year after traffic jam delays evaluation to decide whether to grant him medical parole
Jailed former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian had to stay behind bars yesterday after an expert panel's report on his health was held up in a traffic jam, leaving the authorities unable to decide whether to grant him medical parole.
The Ministry of Justice's Agency of Corrections, which is in charge of the island's prisons, said a 10-member team would verify the report on January 5.
About 300 of Chen's supporters, including his former deputy Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, waited in vain for his release outside Taichung Prison, where he has been serving a 20-year term for corruption since November 2010.
The prison had arranged for an evaluation report on Chen's medical condition, compiled by the Taichung Veterans General Hospital, to be sent to the corrections agency for examination.
But the justice ministry said just before 6pm that the report arrived only at 5.56pm and that the team could not be convened to assess the report on such short notice.
This means Chen will have to remain behind bars until Monday at the earliest.
Chen's son Chen Chih-chung left the prison after the announcement; Lu accused the authorities of administrative inefficiency and indifference towards Chen's condition.