A total of 9,597 inmates were released yesterday as a commutation statute to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of 38 years of martial law took effect.
It was the fifth time that the government has granted a sentence commutation, with as many as 25,670 prisoners benefiting, figures provided by the Ministry of Justice showed.
Sentence commutations were also carried out in 1971 to mark the nation's 60th anniversary; in 1975 to commemorate dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
PHOTO: CHAN CHAO-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES
The ministry said on Sunday that an estimated 10,943 inmates would be released, but it later lowered the figure, citing differences in the opinions of judges and prosecutors.
Among those who qualified for release yesterday -- the first day of the commutation -- 4,973 were drug offenders, 1,910 were convicted of burglary and theft, 690 were serving time for fraud and 69 were convicted of homicide.
The ministry's statistics also showed that 644 HIV-positive inmates were released yesterday.
By the end of the month, a total of 24,726 inmates will have been released under the commutation statute -- 2,791 of whom will need after-care assistance.
Minister of Justice Morley Shih (
Recidivism among those who benefited from the 1988 and 1991 commutations was 20.9 percent and 18.2 percent respectively -- far lower than an average of 46.9 percent among those who were released after completing their prison terms over the past 10 years.
Shih added that the justice ministry would step up cooperation with the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of the Interior to help pardoned inmates belonging to the four groups in order to contain recidivism.
To ensure smooth implementation of the commutation statute, Shih said that the justice ministry's special coordination and emergency response center, which began operating on Sunday, will continue working till 5:30pm today.
"The center's staff already held a meeting on Sunday noon and will meet again at midnight to make sure that the preparatory work has been finalized," Shih said.
He and the two administrative deputy ministers visited various prisons early yesterday to inspect inmate release operations.
To prevent the spread of AIDS, Shih said the justice ministry would take special measures to assist HIV-positive drug offenders in rehabilitation.
Shih said the Taiwan Aftercare Association also sent staff to prisons around the country yesterday to distribute pamphlets on AIDS prevention, drug rehabilitation and the Methadone substitute program to these released inmates.
By location, Taichung Prison has the greatest number of inmates qualified for release yesterday, with 1,262; followed by Tainan Prison, with 603, and Pingtung Prison with 517.
Among the statute's beneficiaries is Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), who began serving a 14-month prison term in April for violent conduct during a protest in front of the Kaohsiung District Court following the 2004 presidential election.
Under the commutation statute, Chiu will have his sentence halved and will be qualified for release in November.
The statute also benefited Non-Party Solidarity Union Legislator Tsai Hau (
Another beneficiary is Hung Hsiao-hui (
Hung was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing her classmate Hsu Chia-chen (
Following the commutation, Hung's prison term will end on April 2, 2014. She will also be up for parole review in September this year.
Additional reporting by AFP
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique