Amendments to the Punishment Act of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍懲罰法) that were proposed after the death in 2013 of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), who is said to have died from abuse while serving in the military, yesterday cleared the legislature, including a stipulation to end the practice of confinement to “detention barracks.”
The punishment of confining soldiers to detention barracks has been changed to requiring them to “repent,” and the maximum period of penitence that a soldier could be subjected to has been revised from 30 days to 15 days.
The penitence would be conducted in a “penitence room,” the establishment of which has been stipulated to fall within the Ministry of National Defense’s remit. Other responsibilities to be taken over by the ministry include the definition of educational content to be delivered to repenting soldiers, and the qualifications and accountability of the personnel managing the penitence rooms.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
According to the newly amended act, those who are disciplined through measures involving restraints of their personal freedom can appeal to a court or the authority in charge of the punishment in a written document or oral statement. The court, upon receiving the protest, would immediately inform the disciplinary unit, which would then review the appeal within 24 hours and retract or annul the punishment if the protest is found to be justified or penitence is deemed unnecessary.
The categories of disciplinary measures have been broadened, with ranking officers now also subject to reductions in rank; non-commissioned officers to dismissal, reduction in rank and restrictions; and enlisted personnel to forfeiture of pay.
“Reforming training” as one of the possible punishments for non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel has been scrapped.
Other changes include making sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual bullying punishable offenses, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol or without a license.
Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸), Hung Chung-chiu’s older sister and one of the New Power Party’s legislative candidates, said on Facebook that, while she is glad to see the attempts of the ministry and the legislature to better the human rights situation in the military, she still holds misgivings about part of the revision.
“Changing ‘detention’ to ‘penitence’ will be putting old wine in new bottles if the environment of penitence as a kind of punishment does not improve. Soldiers who are disciplined could still be abused by the disciplinary environment or personnel during the penitence period,” Hung Tzu-yung said. “Hung Chung-chiu was put in a penitence room that was worse than detention barracks.”
She added that, although the right to appeal has been granted to officers and enlisted personnel by the amendments, “because of the military’s culture, those who have been punished would not dare lodge a claim, even if they felt the punishment was unreasonable.”
“It is not enough to simply have a legal framework established. The government also needs to make sure that individuals can protest without adverse consequences, otherwise the amendment is an empty promise,” Hung Tzu-yung said.
The military was stripped of its right to prosecute its personnel during peacetime by the legislature in August 2013, soon after Hung Chung-chiu’s death and a subsequent mass protest by tens of thousands of people.
SECRET OUT: Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung yesterday accidentally revealed that the infections occurred at the ministry’s Taoyuan General Hospital The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported the fifth COVID-19 case in a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital, where four other medical workers were confirmed to have been infected over the past week. The latest case is a nurse who had tested negative on Tuesday last week, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the CECC, told a news conference. However, on Thursday, she developed symptoms, such as nasal congestion and a cough, and a second test yesterday found that she was infected, Chen said. She is the head nurse of a ward where two
VIGILANCE: While two of the cases are family members of a nurse, there is no sign of community spread and the source of infection is identifiable, the CECC said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported four new domestic COVID-19 cases associated with a cluster infection at a Taoyuan hospital. Since the first case was identified on Tuesday last week, five healthcare workers — two doctors and three nurses — at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taoyuan General Hospital have tested positive for the virus. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that two of the four new cases are the husband and daughter of a nurse (case No. 863) who had earlier been confirmed to have COVID-19. The husband (case No. 864)
PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY: US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft posted online after the virtual meeting that Taiwan should be able to share its successes in global venues President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft yesterday held a virtual meeting, during which Tsai described Taiwan as a “force for good” that deserves a place on the world stage, while Craft reaffirmed Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. The virtual talk was held at about 11am, after Craft’s trip to Taiwan was abruptly canceled. She had been scheduled to meet with Tsai in person at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday morning as part of a three-day visit to Taiwan. On Tuesday, the US Department of State canceled all of its planned trips, citing a need
‘CONTAINED’: The CECC is not considering locking down the hospital where the infections were detected, as their source has been found, Chen Shih-chung said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported one new domestic COVID-19 case, a doctor at a hospital in northern Taiwan where three other medical workers were confirmed to have the disease over the past week. The new case — No. 856 — is a doctor who had treated a COVID-19 patient together with case No. 838, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. Case No. 838, confirmed as a locally infected COVID-19 case on Tuesday, was the first case in the hospital cluster, and later infected his partner, who is a nurse at the same
RSS