Court uses Article 535 to dump compensation case

Three police officers injured in a KTV raid lost their battle for compensation yesterday after the Taipei District Court invoked Interpretation Article 535 of the Constitution..

The ruling marked the first time the controversial article that restricts police search powers has been used against the force since its introduction more than one year ago.

Wu Chi-lang (吳志郎), Ching Yuan-kwang (荊元光) and Huang Cheng-hua (黃政華) of the city's Juvenile Police Branch (JPB) claimed they had been badly bruised in a search of the Power Station KTV, filing a suit against four employees of the Taipei KTV parlor on charges of interfering with public functions.

At midnight on Oct. 28, 2001, the three officers had arrived at the karaoke venue with the intention of carrying out a raid of the premises. They did not have a search warrant and were not wearing police uniforms.

Defendants Chen Li-feng (陳立峰), Tao Li-yu (陶麗裕), Chiu Chien-hung (邱建宏) and Chen Yu-tso (陳囿佐), who all worked at Power Station, tried to stop the three officers as they entered the KTV, bruising them in the process.

In the course of their search, the police officers discovered five marijuana cigarettes and 10 bottles of Ketamine Hydrochloride, a medical anaesthetic. In addition, 109 of the 154 customers at the KTV tested positive for drugs.

"The three officers did not follow the correct procedure when they carried out their raid," Judge Chen Ming-te (陳明德) said in his verdict.

"As a result, the defendants, who were charged with interfering with public functions, had good reason to refuse and stop the officers. The court finds them innocent," he added.

According to Interpretation Article 535, which was introduced on Dec. 14, 2001, police must identify themselves, present search warrants and clearly explain to the suspects why they are being searched when a raid is being carried out. If the police fail to do any of these, the suspects have the right to refuse.

"After reviewing the security tapes of the KTV and talking to witnesses, we believe that the three officers did yell, `This is police business,' when they tried to enter the KTV," Chen said.

"However, we also discovered that they did not show their badges, display any search warrants or explain to the employees why they needed to raid the place," he said.

"In addition, since they were wearing street clothes, the defendants had good reason not to trust what they said," Chen said.

"We believe that these three officers were doing their jobs but the way they carried out their duties was improper. As a result, the court has decided to drop the charges against the defendants," Chen said.

None of the officers has decided whether to appeal as of press time yesterday.

A JPB officer who declined to be identified said that the force will respect the judicial decision and will be more careful when officers carry out similar missions in the future.