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Prosecutor: Sick detainee getting adequate treatment
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Posted on Jul 17 2011
Wei Lin, a federal detainee who claimed that his pleas for medical help due to severe abdominal pain have fallen on deaf ears, is actually receiving adequate medical treatment since the time he was arrested in April, according to a prosecutor.
Assistant U.S. attorney James Benedetto said the U.S. government has in its possession certain records—delivery requests, sick call request forms, vital signs assessments, a physician consultation form and an assessment form—to prove that Lin’s condition has not been ignored.
An examination of the records, which date from April through June this year, will show that Lin’s complaints have been addressed by medical personnel, said Benedetto.
Lin, a Chinese national, is charged with two counts of document fraud and a count of false statements to a federal agent for allegedly obtaining a driver’s license fraudulently.
Joseph James Norita Camacho, counsel for Lin, on Tuesday notified the U.S. District Court for the NMI that he has made repeated verbal, written, and email requests to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to have his client receive medical assistance.
“To date, Lin has yet to receive any medical assistance to determine what is causing the severe abdominal pain and the bloody discharges,” Camacho said.
Benedetto said the government will make U.S. Marshal Don Hall available to answer questions about the procedures for obtaining medical care for inmates and detainees.
Benedetto asked that the information it has received concerning Lin’s medical treatment be discussed in a sealed hearing.
In addition, Benedetto said, Lin executed a medical records release form when he was taken into custody that allows the U.S. Marshals Service access and review of his medical records for, among other purposes, “providing me with appropriate medical care.”
At a hearing last Thursday, U.S. District Court for the NMI judge William Q. Hayes discussed the motion with Benedetto and Camacho at sidebar. Hayes ordered that sidebar discussions remain sealed due to Lin’s medical issues.
