Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and the Humanistic Education Foundation yesterday proposed an amendment that would subject those in the education sector who delay or conceal reports of sexual assault on campus to criminal punishment.
Under the proposed amendment to the Gender Equality Education Act (性別平等教育法), personnel who do not take the initiative in reporting cases of sexual assault on campus as required by the Ministry of Education could face jail time of between one and seven years.
Those who forge, tamper with, destroy or hide evidence in sexual assault cases would be liable to a two-year jail term and could also be fined up to NT$1 million (US$31,000).
DETERRENT
Foundation chief executive officer Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) told a press conference at the legislature that the amendment was proposed to deter school principals or presidents from concealing reports of sexual assault against students.
The proposal came after the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court on Thursday upheld a verdict by the Taichung District Court clearing Hu Shu-chuan (胡淑娟), former principal of Shang An Elementary School in Taichung, of forgery. The decision was final.
INDICTMENT
Hu was indicted in May for allegedly misrepresenting a case of sexual assault as sexual harassment to the ministry in 2008.
Two weeks before Hu reported the case to the ministry, the parents of four boys filed sexual assault complaints against a teacher surnamed Hsieh (謝) with Hu.
By law, educational personnel must report sexual assault against children within 24 hours of learning of the incident.
Hsieh was later convicted of sexually assaulting four boys on 19 occasions between 2006 and 2007 and sentenced to 19-and-a-half years in jail.
JUDGEMENT
In the High Court’s verdict, the court said that although Hu delayed reporting the case to the ministry, she should shoulder administrative responsibility rather than be subject to criminal punishment.
Commenting on the verdict, Tien said the current system served as a deterrent against reporting sexual abuse on campus.
“Our system allows principals to live a better life if they choose not to report sexual assault against students,” she said.
Eric Ker (柯今尉), section chief at the ministry’s Student Affairs Committee, said the ministry had proposed a similar amendment that would introduce a one-year jail term for offenders.
However, the ministry had some misgivings about whether it was appropriate to criminalize the actions of school principals or officials who conceal cases of sexual assault because “this is about putting someone in prison,” Ker said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
RSS