TAIPEI, Aug 31, 2009 (AFP) - Taiwan plans to release prisoners early to help clear up after Typhoon Morakot, an official said Monday, promising to be careful to screen convicts to make sure they will not pose a risk to society.

Those eligible for the programme, which will kick off Tuesday, are prisoners sentenced to no more than six months in jail, said the official, a prosecutor with the justice ministry.

"We realise that counties and cities in the south that were hard hit by the typhoon still need reconstruction efforts. The programme is expected to provide help," an official from the ministry told AFP.

"If necessary, eligible inmates or convicts will be sent to the disaster-hit areas to clear roads or rivers of landslides and clean communities," she said.

Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in decades, battered the island in early August, leaving at least 571 people dead.

The ministry estimated up to 30,000 prisoners are eligible to apply for early release under the programme.

It follows an amendment to the criminal code passed earlier this year allowing people to commute jail time or fines into community work.

"Of course, we have a prudent screening mechanism to decide who can be released. Their releases cannot danger social safety," the prosecutor said. "We will watch closely how communities react to the programme for possible adjustments," she added.