The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments adding a penalty of at least seven years in prison for discharging a firearm in public.
The amendments to the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) state that in addition to jail time, a person who fires a gun in public could be fined up to NT$15 million (US$479,019).
The change, proposed by the Ministry of the Interior, follows police seizures of new kinds of modified guns that have been involved in incidents that resulted in casualties.
Photo:CNA
Prior to the amendments, firing any kind of gun in public was not treated as a criminal offense under the Criminal Code.
A provision in Article 63 of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) treated “firing a weapon without justifiable reasons in public” as a crime, but only carried a penalty of no more than three days in prison or a fine up to NT$30,000.
The revised law regulates all types of firearms, ammunition and related equipment to enhance the traceability of nonstandard firearms, the ministry said.
Public use of a nonstandard firearm comes with a jail sentence of five to 12 years and a fine of up to NT$10 million.
Those who manufacture, sell, transport or transfer replica guns could face a sentence of up to seven years in jail and a fine of up to NT$7 million, while those who manufacture, sell or transport parts for replica firearms without approval could be fined NT$1 million to NT$10 million.
If the offense is serious, the seller could be ordered to suspend or terminate their operations, the bill says.
Nonstandard guns are considered firearms that are produced by factories not licensed by the government, and include modified guns.
Replica guns are defined as devices resembling a real firearm in terms of its exterior, structure and materials used to produce it, and could be altered to fire like a real gun.
The amendments also revise a provision stipulating that people who contravene the law, but surrender with all of their firearms, ammunition and knives “may” have their penalties reduced or exempted.
Previously, the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act stated that individuals surrendering their firearm “shall” have their penalties reduced or exempted.
Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) yesterday said the amendment aimed to curb the circulation of nonstandard weapons, including modified and replica firearms, and stiffen penalties.
About 90 percent of the illegal weapons seized by police this year had been modified, Lin said.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
RSS