Two years ago in Kaohsiung, a person surnamed Lee (李) was arrested for allegedly selling drugs, but a Kaohsiung District Court judge found the man not guilty, because he was handcuffed when making a statement to the police. The judge ruled that the statement was taken while Lee was restrained, and therefore it was a coerced confession.
Although the Kaohsiung District Court sided with Lee, there is a reason most police stations have windows fitted with iron bars. There is nothing complicated about it, as even children understand that a suspect might escape from custody. If a suspect flees, the police officer involved could be prosecuted as well.
When people are under arrest, they immediately think of the years of imprisonment they might face, their reputation, their families and other possible consequences. Some might simply want to end their lives, while others might try to attack the arresting officers.
Several years ago, a city police department’s traffic division found that a student from a top-ranking high school was riding a stolen bicycle. The student was brought to a police station and questioned in a room on the fourth floor of the building. The police officer did not put handcuffs on the student, who allegedly admitted that he stole the bike. After giving their statement, the student abruptly jumped out of the window. Fortunately, the student fell on the carport roof and did not sustain any serious injuries.
Some suspects try to escape even when wearing handcuffs or leg shackles. In 1998, Taoyuan Police Department’s Yangmei Precinct broke up a suspected car theft ring. The police drove one suspect, surnamed Lai (賴), to his home in Yangmei District (楊梅) to search the property. When they arrived, Lai’s wife was outside waiting in another car. As soon as Lai exited from the police car he arrived in, she drove closer, with the window opened, and talked to the police. When one of the officers let go of Lai, the handcuffed, leg-shackled suspect attempted to enter his wife’s car through the window.
More often than not, arrested suspects try to escape from custody. Police officers must be extra vigilant rather than too lenient.
As stipulated by the Ministry of Justice, when suspects are on trial and being questioned, officers of the High Court and all district prosecutors’ offices should remove their restraints.
In January last year, a man accused of robbery was tried by the Taichung District Court, during which his restraints were removed. After the judge decided that he should be remanded to custody, the man attempted to flee before court officers could handcuff him. Five officers who attempted to subdue the man sustained multiple injuries, including broken noses, bites and bruises.
The rule of removing restraints only applies to court officers, not police officers in general. When a person is arrested, questioned or transferred, police officers have every right to restrain suspects or prisoners as needed.
Under Article 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), the “confession of an accused not extracted by violence, threat, inducement, fraud, exhausting interrogation, unlawful detention or other improper means and consistent with facts may be admitted as evidence.”
The Kaohsiung District Court’s judgement in Lee’s case should have been made based on whether the police had forced a confession through improper means. Violating the freedom of the accused should not have been valued as the highest principle.
Teddy Su is a civil servant.
Translated by Emma Liu
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