The Taipei Prison yesterday recommended that a serial rapist who recently gained admission to National Taiwan University be granted parole.
But whether the convict -- surnamed Yang (
A senior prison officer told the Taipei Times yesterday that the prison was not allowed to officially release the institution's conclusion on whether the rapist should be granted parole.
Still, the official hinted that parole had been granted, saying the convict's situation has met the requirements that would lead the prison to recommend to the ministry the paroling of the prisoner.
Though the rapist has been identified by media before and his name is a matter of public record, the Taipei Times is unwilling to print his full name in this report.
This paper believes that reportage of Yang's past may prejudice society against him, costing him the opportunity to restart his life and depriving him of his human rights.
"His performance was excellent," the prison officer said. "He did not break the rules; he has showed intention to reform himself -- of which his passing the university examination was a sign."
Yang was sentenced to 16 years in 1996 for more than 20 counts of rape and other sex offenses. He was also tried on eight counts of theft.
The crimes occurred in the vicinity of university and college campuses in Taipei's Hwakang district on Yangmingshan. Many of his victims were students. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail and has served six years, making him eligible for parole.
The Ministry of Justice yesterday declined to comment on whether it was likely to approve Yang's parole application.
In recent years, the ministry has been taking a tougher stance toward the parole of serious offenders.
"The ministry's current approval rate for parole recommendations from prisons is 65 percent," a senior officer at the ministry's corrections division said.
He said it usually takes one month for the ministry to process a parole recommendation from prisons. In the procedure, the justice minister has the ultimate power to approve or veto the recommendations.
The possibility that Yang might go free and matriculate into National Taiwan University has raised public concern.
A senior probation officer said research showed that for serial sex offenders whose victims are strangers, the risk of them becoming repeat offenders was very high.
"Especially if they are exposed to high-risk factors," the officer said. For someone who targeted young college students, he said, living among students would be a high-risk environment.
"In prison there was not the environment for recidivism for a sexual offender, and it's easier to behave himself. But it would be another thing to be on a university campus, and that's the worry."
Taiwan currently lacks a developed mechanism to monitor paroled sexual offenders, he added.
Joseph Lin (
"Everybody knows that rehabilitation is not effective in prisons, and parole is often too easily granted," he said.
"Of course, it would be wrong if one who has been reformed is denied parole just because society fears his past sex offenses," he said. "It's quite a dilemma."
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