Chen Shui-bian has medical parole extended for a further three months

Taiwan's judicial authorities yesterday extended the medical parole for disgraced ex-president Chen Shui-bian for three more months, after finding he is still too ill to return to prison.

Chen, aged 64, was allowed home to recuperate after the Agency of Corrections granted him medical parole for one month due to his frail health. It was due to expire yesterday.

"We have decided to extend his medical parole for three more months after accessing the medical report compiled by a medical team and checking his actual conditions at home," the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

It said the Agency of Corrections recently sent officials to Chen's home in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan to check his health, only to find that he had not made sufficient improvement to return to jail.

"His conditions are complicated and hard to control, and there is also a risk that he could die if without proper care at the prison," the agency said.

Chen, president between 2000 and 2008, has served more than six years of a 20-year sentence for corruption. His health has been deteriorating over time while serving his jail term.