Blood tests: Testing blood samples of suspected drug users for HIV is a common practice by the police, though many believe it to be illegal. As with urine tests, implementation varies from precinct to precinct.
The Statute for Narcotics Hazard Control can be found in its original Chinese on the Internet at: http://www.nbcd.gov.tw/law/law_01.asp
Foreign nationals' brushes with the law
South African male resident of Taipei was arrested on July 17 for cultivating marijuana. Police claimed that they discovered the crime by happenstance as the man was growing the plants on the balcony of his Neihu apartment. Accompanied by television cameras and a search warrant, police stormed the man's apartment, collecting two mature plants and 4.2g of dried marijuana. The man is now awaiting trial.
An American male living in Pingtung County was arrested on July 25 for cultivating marijuana after police found 18 young plants outside the man's home. Police recorded the raid with a video camera and later provided the footage to a national cable network. The man is currently awaiting trial.
Since mid-July, Taitung police have harassed a number of foreign English teachers living locally, accusing them of drug use and trafficking. A South African male targeted by the inquiries has had his residence searched and was requested by police to provide a urine sample. As the police had no evidence to suspect him of drug use, he refused. He has, however, been charged with forging a college diploma in order to work as an English teacher and currently awaits trial on NT$30,000 bond. Those familiar with the case allege that a jealous lover provided false information that led to the police investigation.
An American male English teacher fled the country on Dec. 24, 2001, one day after being tested for drugs in a police raid on a Taipei nightclub. "He told me he took like four pills [of ecstasy], so he didn't even wait for the results to come back, he just split," said a friend of the man.
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