The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday said that former Taipei City Government Bureau of Health director Chiu Shu-ti (邱淑媞) will be summoned at 3pm today for an investigation of the SARS outbreak inside the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital in late April.
"We tried to reach her yesterday but she was at her Ilan home when we called, said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.
"As a result, we decided to reschedule the interview and officially summon her today," Chen said.
According to Chen, Chief Prosecutor Chen Ta-wei (陳大偉), who is leading the investigation team, the team has interviewed a number of officials who have had direct involvement in the handling of the SARS outbreak.
Those officials include former Hoping Hospital's superintendent Wu Kang-wen (吳康文), the hospital's Infectious Diseases Department head Lin Jung-ti (林榮第), Shin Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital Deputy Superintendent Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥), former Center for Disease Control (CDC) director-general Chen Tzay-jinn (陳再晉), former Taipei City Bureau of Health director Yeh Chin-chuan (葉金川), current CDC Director-General Su Yi-jen (蘇益仁), Hoping Hospital's Emergency Room Director Chang Yu-tai (張裕泰) and the Bureau of Health's Deputy Director Hsu Jiunn-chiang (許君強) for the investigation.
Wu and Lin were the only two interviewees who were asked to report to the prosecutors' office on May 26.
After their interviews, Chen Ta-wei decided to release Wu on NT$2 million bail and Lin on NT$1 million bail.
They were also banned from traveling outside the country because evidence showed that they violated Article 29 of the Communicable Disease Prevention Law (傳染病防治法).
The law states that a doctor must report patients suspected of carrying a statutory communicable disease to the health authority within 24 hours.
The rest of the interviews were carried out at the officials' and doctors' offices. Chiu's interview will be the third interview that will be conducted at the prosecutors' office.
"The location of the interview does not imply anything. We simply need her statement to clarify our questions during the investigation. That's all," said Chen Hung-ta.
According to the spokesman, five independent doctors are currently helping prosecutors to review patients' files and employee log files from Hoping Hospital to decide whether anybody should be made responsible for misdiagnosing possible SARS cases and covering up the outbreak at the hospital.
Prosecutors will summon Wu and Lin again whenever necessary.
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