The Ministry of Justice is planning to put electronic tracking devices on some paroled criminals in the future to make sure that they will not repeat their offenses.
According to Vice Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
"We are planning to set up a tracking mechanism for certain criminals, such as rapists or murderers, after they are paroled," Shih said. "We want to make sure that they will not repeat their crimes again ... I think this is necessary."
The ministry's plan to put electronic tracking devices on certain criminals does not include those who have finished their jail terms.
"It will only be carried out for parolees," Shih said.
Meanwhile, since the electronic tracking device system only works within a certain range, Shih said that the ministry is also considering linking it up with the global positioning system (GPS) so that law enforcement officers will be able to locate the person being tracked anywhere.
Shih said that the ministry will organize meetings sometime next week to discuss details of the proposed amendment to the Guidance Law (觀護法). If the amendment passes, in the future, paroled rapists, murderers or even those found guilty of espionage will be forced to put on these electronic tracing devices so law enforcement officers can trace them whenever necessary.
In addition to the electronic tracking devices, the amendment to the Guidance Law would also authorize law enforcement officers to confine some parolees to their home and apartment, or put them under curfew.
How long parolees will have to wear tracking devices remains an undecided question.
"As of now, it is quite clear that rapists and murderers will have to wear them. But we are also considering asking certain suspects on bail to join the program," Shih added.
"These two kinds of criminals [rapists and murderers] have two unique characteristics in common -- they love to move around and they love to go out at night. These two characteristics may lead them to repeat their crimes and we will help avoid that," Shih continued. "We cannot put our community's safety at risk."
Local human rights activists have been complaining against the idea, Shih said, arguing that the new tracking system would deprive people of their basic human rights.
Under the law, convicted rapists must go through a rehabilitation program as they are serving their jail time. However, a study by the ministry also showed that it is very difficult to determine if a rapist is completely "rehabilitated" when he finishes his jail term.
"What we care about more is public safety," Shih said. "I cannot say that these activists' concerns are totally wrong, but we will keep communicating with them."
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS