Medical parole

    A SENIOR justice official in Taiwan said the authority is considering releasing former leader Chen Shui-bian from prison to receive medical treatment.

    Chen Ming-tang said a decision could be made in the coming fortnight or before the Lunar New Year holiday, the island’s media said. Chen Shui-bian is serving a 20-year jail term for corruption. He has a series of health problems, including a heart complaint, severe depression and a chronic brain disease.

    Death penalty

    THE Pakistani prime minister lifted a moratorium on the death penalty Wednesday, a day after Taliban gunmen attacked a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 132 students and nine teachers. Many people have called in the media for the death penalty to be restored after the bloodshed.

    Tipoffs invited

    CHINA’S top anti-corruption watchdog opened a new channel on its official website Wednesday for tipoffs on lavish behavior at year end.

    The Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said the initiative would put the central authority’s frugal policies into practice and curb bad practices such as using public funds for gifts, during the New Year and the Spring Festival. The CCDI’s website will name and shame all cases involving disciplinary violations on a weekly basis starting from Dec. 29.

    12 charged

    PROSECUTORS said deadly gas explosions in Taiwan earlier this year were caused by multiple human errors as they charged 12 people over the blasts, including the head of a chemical company and government officials. The disaster killed 32 people and wounded more than 300 in Kaohsiung in July as explosions in underground pipelines sparked massive fires and left trenches running down the middle of some streets.