The Ministry of Justice says that officials will meet tomorrow to discuss whether to approve the fourth parole application of the rapist popularly known as the "Hwakang Wolf" (
"The meeting will be attended by me, the ministry's three deputy ministers, rehabilitation personnel from the Taipei Prison, prosecutors, medical doctors and physiologists," said Huang Cheng-nan (黃徵男), the director of the justice ministry's Department of Corrections (矯正司).
The "Wolf," identified only by his surname, Yang (
The local media has never revealed his first name since the issue created a stir two years ago. Concern for human rights is often cited for the reason for this practice, although Yang's full name is already a matter of public record and he is no stranger to reporters who cover the judicial beat.
Reliable sources from the ministry said that officials would approve the parole application this time, since it will be the last chance for Yang to enroll at National Taiwan University (NTU) this fall.
Yang's latest parole application was approved by the Taipei Prison and forwarded to the ministry approximately two weeks ago, but no progress has been made since.
Yang, a 33-year-old Hualien native, was sentenced to 16 years and began his jail time at the Taipei Prison on Nov. 19, 1996.
He took the Joint College Entrance Exam in the summer of 2001 and was granted admission to the sociology department at NTU.
His first parole application was turned down in the same year, due to public fears that he would strike again. He managed to gain a one-year leave from NTU to keep his admission valid for another year.
Last year, although the prison's rehabilitation committee affirmed his efforts through the rehabilitation program, his second application was again rejected for the same reasons.
NTU then notified him that his leave of absence would expire last September and that he had to be enrolled and pay the tuition fee for that year or else lose his admission for good.
Yang paid the tuition fee and filed a one-year drop-out application for another year.
Yang's drop-out period will expire this fall. Now NTU has said that Yang would have to either go to school and begin his classes or else lose his admission placement for good.
If Yang loses his place at the school, he will have to take the entrance exam again if he wants to gain admission to any university in the country.
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