Former president taken to detention center
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) Former President Chen Shui-bian was taken directly to a detention center Wednesday after the Taipei District Court consented to a request by prosecutors earlier that day that he be held incommunicado.
A three-judge panel set up by the court ruled at around 7 a.m. that Chen should be detained to facilitate a probe into cases in which he is allegedly involved, whereupon he was taken to the Tucheng detention center in Taipei County amid tight security, although there were no signs of any Chen supporters.
Detention center officials said Chen, the first person to have served as Taiwan's president ever to be detained, was treated the same as any other detainee, meaning that he underwent the normal procedure of being stripped for a physical examination.
After a hard day that included a six-hour interrogation session at the Special Investigation Division under the Supreme Prosecutors Office and an overnight court hearing that lasted around 11 hours -- although interrupted by a visit to a local hospital after he complained that bailiffs had treated him roughly -- Chen looked tired and went without breakfast, according to the detention center officials.
They also said that after consulting with Chen, he chose a solitary cell, just like Ma Yung-cheng, his former vice secretary-general, who is also in detention as part of the investigation along with eight others who are close to the former president.
Center officials said that they will take over Chen's security and that only one of the team of secret servicemen provided by the National Security Bureau as Chen's security detail will remain in the center's administrative building to serve as a liaison channel. (By Lilian Wu) ENDITEM/J
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