Improper Prison Punishment Case
Lu O-feng is an inmate at Chiayi Prison who, for unknown reasons (he suspects it was due to eye laser surgery he underwent before imprisonment, though the exact cause remains undiagnosed), experienced agonizing headaches. He first followed Chiayi Prison regulations by setting up a report board to notify the prison officer in charge, but the officer stated that he lacked the authority to decide whether an outside medical visit was permitted. Lu O-feng therefore pressed the prison's call button twice, hoping to seek assistance from the central station officer and apply for an escorted outside medical visit. However, the central station officer still informed him that he did not meet the criteria for outside medical treatment. Half an hour later, his head was still aching severely, so he pressed the call button again. The officer determined that his behavior constituted a disturbance to official duties and imposed disciplinary measures consisting of a warning, deprivation of food deliveries from outside for 7 days, suspension of the use of self-funded non-daily necessities for 14 days, and placement in a disciplinary cell for 30 days.
In this case, Lu O-feng was genuinely suffering from extreme physical distress and did not press the call button without reason or intentionally disturb the officer on duty by randomly pressing the button. Furthermore, it was unreasonable for the central station officer, lacking medical expertise, to simply claim his vital signs were normal, tell him not to press the call button again, and fail to provide appropriate treatment.
In January 2023, the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court dismissed the appeal (111-Yen-Chien-Shang-Tzu No. 22), rendering the defeat in this case final. The reasoning of the court's judgment was primarily that Lu O-feng's physical condition did not meet the criteria for emergency outside medical treatment, that he could normally seek treatment by reporting to medical personnel through routine prison medical channels, and that the diagnostic certificates issued by Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital could not prove that his physical discomfort and vital signs on the noon of May 22, 2021, met the conditions prescribed for emergency outside medical treatment. However, the court completely failed to address whether "the conditions listed in the 'Standards for Emergency Outside Medical Treatment' attached to the Corrections Administration's February 11, 2019 official letter excessively infringe upon inmates' right to health and potentially lead to delayed medical care."
Following the implementation of the new Prisons Act in July 2020, inmates who consider prison disciplinary measures unreasonable may file a grievance, and if dissatisfied with the grievance decision, they may initiate administrative litigation. This case serves as an observation of the application of the "Standards for Inmate Violations and Disciplinary Measures," a subsidiary regulation of the Prisons Act, after the new law took effect. Although we unfortunately did not succeed in assisting Lu O-feng, the Foundation has continued to receive various complaints regarding inmates' right to health, and we will continue to monitor whether the fundamental rights and interests of inmates are properly protected.
