"My mother went to jail alive and well, but came out a vegetable," cried Ma Shou-chin (馬秀琴) in front of the Ministry of Justice yesterday. She demanded justice for what she claimed were violation of human rights by medical staff at a Taipei detention center facility.
Ma said her mother, an amphetamine user who was being kept at the Taipei Detention House (TDH, 台北看守所), was suddenly rushed to hospital one day last month, where she later lost consciousness.
Ma said her mother, 45-year-old You Shiang-hua (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
On Feb. 29, however, she was detained by police and taken to the TDH.
One week later, on March 6, her family was contacted by hospital officials to inform her that she was in a coma -- and that she was likely brain dead.
Having waited in vain for 21 days for an explanation of the cause of the mishap, You's family yesterday traveled from their mountain tribal village in Taoyuan County to the Ministry of Justice in Taipei to seek help. They were accompanied by members of the Taiwan Association of Human Rights (TAHR) and several Aboriginal rights groups.
Sobbing in front of the ministry yesterday, Ma Shou-chin said that while at the hospital, a TDC officer took her unconscious mother's index finger to stamp a number of documents, and then rudely refused to explain their contents.
"They even shouted at us," Ma said. You's family said one of the documents appeared to be a TSC discharge certificate.
Ku Yu-jen (
Ku also asked the ministry to help them examine documentation from the TDC regarding You's diagnosis, requesting certificates from both the TDC and the Mackay Memorial Hospital, where You is now being cared for.
"Their explanations of her health situation as she left the TDC are inconsistent," Ku said.
"The TDC document claimed You was discharged after testing negative for a reaction to amphetamines, while the hospital's diagnosis was the opposite," said Ku.
He added that his suspicion was the detention center was responsible for You's condition, and that discrimination against Aborigines ultimately caused the tragedy.
"Should Aborigines be treated like dogs? No one has given any explanation for events of the past 21 days," said members of You's family.
Ou Wei-ji (區偉基), director of the department of corrections at the Ministry of Justice, responded by saying that according to clinical records, You entered the TDC while taking more than five kinds of medicines, and was diagnosed as emotionally unstable on March 5.
Ou said the TDC offered You immediate treatment, and made a decision to hospitalize as her condition deteriorated. "There was never any discrimination," Ou said, while promising to look into the case.
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