Zelfmoordpoging ex-president taiwan

Former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian tried to kill himself in a prison hospital to protest his 2009 corruption conviction, for which he’s serving a 20-year jail sentence.

Chen, 62, tried to hang himself with three towels tied together at a faucet of a bathroom sink at 9 p.m. yesterday, Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming-tang said in a phone interview. The former president was stopped by guards and his condition is stable, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

After serving as president from 2000-2008, Chen and his wife were sentenced in 2009 to life in prison for misuse of public funds and other charges including corruption and inducing false evidence. The punishment was reduced on appeal and Chen was moved to the prison hospital in April to treat ailments including depression, a sleep disorder and Parkinson’s disease, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.