Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday agreed to stay at Taipei Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) for further examination and treatment, but a confidant said Chen was forced to do so by Taipei Prison authorities.

Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence for corruption and has been in the hospital since Sept. 21 for treatment of various complications, announced his agreement in a press release issued by his office yesterday afternoon.