The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday said that Prosecutor-General Yen Da-ho (顏大和) would file an extraordinary appeal against a jail sentence given to a Bunun Aborigine for hunting protected animals to feed his sick mother.
The news so delighted Wang Kuang-lu (王光祿) — who was supposed to begin a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence the same day — that he hugged his 92-year-old mother without telling her why, and thanked “all those who have helped me through the legal entanglements.”
Wang, 56, said he used a gun he found in the mountains to kill a goat and a Formosan Reeves’ muntjac two years ago because his sick mother wanted to eat lean meat that is “not as fatty” as the produce sold in the “plains peoples ‘market.”
Photo: CNA
He was charged with breaches of the Controlling Guns, Knives and Ammunition Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and the Wildlife Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), for which he was given sentences of three years and two months, and seven months respectively.
The verdicts sparked protests from Wang and the Bunun community, who said the law was too harsh on Taiwan’s “real native” Aborigines for whom hunting wild animals is part of their traditional way of life.
Many civic groups voiced support for Wang and called on the Ministry of Justice to appeal the sentence on the grounds that Wang was showing filial piety toward his elders by providing wild meat for his mother.
With the support of the Bunun community, Wang decided not to report to jail to begin his sentence, although he had told his mother he would be away for a period of time.
“All of my community told me I am not guilty and that there is no need for me to be locked up for hunting wild animals,” he told reporters in Taitung. “So I will not voluntarily put myself behind bars. Rather, I would prefer to spend my time keeping my mother company.”
“If they want to lock me up, they can come and get me,” Wang added.
It was at this juncture that the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced its plan to appeal his sentence.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS