Mon, Aug 12, 2002 page2

• Murder has critics seeking tougher laws for juveniles

  JUSTICE Police believe school teacher Wu Hsiao-hui was murdered at the hands of two teenagers, and the victim's father says the law must deliver harsher punishment

  • By Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTER
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  The arrest of two murder suspects last week has sparked calls to amend the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases (少年事件處理法) and the Criminal Code (刑法).

  Some legal experts say the laws provide too much protection for juveniles.

  The National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau announced last Wednesday that 23-year-old Huang Chi-feng (黃啟峰) and 19-year-old Wang Yu-chuan (王鈺銓) had been arrested for allegedly murdering Wu Hsiao-hui (吳曉蕙), a former teacher at Taipei's Hsinhu Elementary School (新湖國小), eight years ago.

  However, since Huang was 15 and Wang was 11 when they allegedly committed the crime, Huang is exempt from the death penalty or a life sentence, while Wang could face two-years of probation.

  The Article 18 of the Criminal Code says that an act committed by a person who is less than 14 years of age is not punishable by a prison term. Those between the ages of 14 and 18 face reduced punishment compared with those faced by adults.

  According to Article 2 of the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases (少年事件處理法), the term "juvenile" means a person who is older than 12 but younger than 18.

  Article 54 of the same law states that if the juvenile is already 18-years old before the commencement of probation or reformatory education, or if he reaches the age of 18 during the execution thereof, the period of punishment imposed upon him shall not extend beyond the age of 21.

  According to the Shihlin District Court's Juvenile Division, Huang would be allowed to file a parole request in seven years should he be convicted for a jail period longer than 10 years.

  Probation

  As for Wang, since he is 19, his probation period would be less than two years.

  However, the court said that Wu's family members are still eligible to file a civil claim against the two suspects.

  According to the Ministry of Justice, 14,896 teenagers were sentenced by district courts' juvenile divisions. Of them, 439 were involved in criminal cases. Ministry officials said that more teenagers have become involved in violent cases over the past couple of years.

  Wu's father, Keelung Police Department Director Wu Chen-chi (吳振吉), said that a 15-year-old is mature enough to make judgments about their own actions. In addition, even though Wang was only 11 when he allegedly committed the crime and is subject to treatment as a juvenile, Wu said he doesn't believe that a two-year probation period would teach him anything.

  "For the past eight years, I never forgot my mission -- to find the person who killed my daughter," Wu said. "I'm so glad that we found the killers on the eve of Father's Day. However, it is likely that they will face only minor punishment due to the protection provided by these two laws."

  Wu said that it is important to protect juveniles but it is more important to protect innocent people.

  "I strongly suggest that we amend the laws," he said.

  KMT legislative leader Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) echoed Wu's remark, saying criminals are becoming younger.

  "We made the laws to protect innocent people. When they fail to protect as many innocent people as they used to, it's a sign for us to fix the problem," he said.

  The latest amendment to the Law Governing the Disposition of Juvenile Cases, proposed by former New Party lawmaker Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大), was made in 1997.

  Rehabilitation

  Prior to becoming a lawmaker, Hsieh was a senior judge with expertise in juvenile delinquency. She said that the 1997 amendment did not include stricter regulations, but instead focused on rehabilitating juvenile criminals.

  "Why would an 11-year-old and a 15-year-old kill a person? I think that question is more important, isn't it?" she said. "I don't think there's any problem with our laws."

  Municipal Juvenile Counseling Committee Director-General Wu Chang-o (吳嫦娥) said helping and protecting juvenile criminals is more important than simply punishing them.

  "Most teenagers didn't know what they were doing when they broke the law. Strict laws may simply ruin their lives, which may not be the best solution to juvenile delinquency," she said.
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