The Legislative Yuan on Thursday passed an amendment that would make it possible for criminal offenders with mental issues to be kept in psychiatric detention beyond the existing five-year limit, placing no cap on how long they can be held.
Article 87 of the Criminal Code stipulates that criminal offenders who are not convicted or whose sentences are reduced because of diminished responsibility can be held in “custodial protection” for up to five years.
Thursday’s amendment allows the period of custodial protection to be extended once for three years or less, followed by extensions of up to one year each, without placing a limit on the number of extensions allowed.
Prosecutors would be required to get permission from a court for each extension, and the need for keeping the detainee under custodial protection must be re-evaluated annually, during the initial five-year period as well as during later extensions.
The existing law only stipulates that a court could revoke the detention order at any time if there is evidence that it is no longer necessary.
The amendment was drafted in response to a fatal stabbing of a railway police officer in 2019 by a passenger surnamed Cheng (鄭) who had a history of schizophrenia.
In April 2020, the Chiayi District Court found Cheng not guilty of murder on grounds of diminished responsibility and ordered him to undergo treatment for mental health issues while in custodial protection for five years.
The verdict sparked widespread outrage, with many members of the public saying that the defendant was being let off too lightly, leading to calls for longer periods of psychiatric detention for criminal offenders with mental disabilities.
New Power Party Legislator Wang Wan-yu (王婉諭), whose daughter was murdered in 2016 by a man who was later given a life sentence rather than the death penalty because he had a mental illness, criticized Thursday’s revision, saying that it would lead to undesired outcomes.
People with mental illnesses who commit less serious crimes would not admit to their mental issues, as they would fear being kept in psychiatric detention indefinitely, she argued.
They would avoid getting care and might be out of reach for the nation’s mental health network, resulting in their condition worsening, she said.
“Couldn’t that lead to another tragedy similar to what happened to me?” she asked.
Others suggested that having no upper limit on the total time spent in psychiatric detention could contravene a person’s human rights and be unconstitutional.
However, Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the yearly court reviews would prevent baseless indefinite detentions.
Increasing the review frequency can balance human rights protections and social order considerations, he said.
Other amendments were passed on Thursday that would allow a suspect or defendant to be detained during an investigation or trial in a way that would be more beneficial to their health, proponents said.
A revision to the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) institutes a “temporary resettlement system” for suspects or defendants to take into account their medical needs, procedural rights and public order, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.
Ker said it was the most important amendment, as it would enable suspects and defendants to get medical care in facilities different from standard detention centers.
Another amendment, to the Rehabilitative Disposition Execution Act (保安處分執行法), gives prosecutors the authority to establish the kind of custodial protection required for each individual depending on his or her circumstances.
They would be able to have such individuals enter psychiatric hospitals, mental health facilities or institutions for people with disabilities, the amendment said.
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