The Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday said it had opened an investigation into the arrest on Thursday of a woman who refused to answer a police officer’s questions after seemingly being stopped without cause.
The office said in a news release that, at the request of police, it on Thursday interrogated music teacher Chan Hui-ling (詹慧玲) on suspicion of obstructing a public official during an encounter in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢).
The office said the case is being reviewed and asked the public to be patient until the investigation is concluded.
Photo: CNA
The incident has drawn considerable attention in Taiwan, where police conduct is closely scrutinized, partly because of the country’s many years under martial law.
A Jhongli Police Precinct officer surnamed Yeh (葉) approached Chan as she was walking near Jhongli Station and attempted to question her, asking her name, if she lived nearby and whether she was carrying identification.
When Chan asked why she was being questioned, the officer said he was worried that “someone reported you missing,” seemingly having assumed that she was a migrant worker who had illegally left her employer, a partial video of the encounter released by police on Friday showed.
After Chan refused to answer the questions, a dispute broke out.
The footage shows her saying: “Really stupid.”
When the officer asked if she was calling him stupid, Chan said: “What you did violated...” before the officer said: “OK, well you’ve just called me stupid.”
The footage is cut a few seconds later.
The officer arrested Chan for obstructing a public official.
Chan has said on Facebook that police did not have grounds to question her, and accused them of abusing their power by slamming her to the ground, handcuffing her and holding her at a police station for questioning.
Police said the incident occurred in a high-crime area where patrols are conducted more frequently.
The officer’s questioning of Chan and request to see her identification was legal, they said, citing Article 6, Subparagraph 6 of the Police Power Exercise Act (警察職權行使法).
Subparagraph 6 says that police may verify the identity of anyone who passes through “designated public places, road sections, and check points.”
It says the designation may be made “only when considered necessary to prevent crimes or deal with events that may effect major public safety or social order,” but adds that the designation “shall be determined by supervisors in charge.”
Police have declined to release the footage showing Chan being restrained and handcuffed, but said that it would be given to prosecutors.
However, videos of the arrest were circulated widely online.
They appear to show the officer throwing Chan to the ground and handcuffing her as she screams.
Chan yesterday filed a report with the Jhongli Police Precinct accusing Yeh of infringing on her personal liberty and causing bodily harm.
She also urged police to release the full video of her arrest.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) on Friday night said he had asked the National Police Agency and the Taoyuan Police Department to investigate the incident.
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