A minor scuffle between police and journalists trying to cover the release of a high-profile corruption suspect on Monday has turned into a legal showdown between the government and a TV cameraman detained by police at the scene.
During the incident on Monday afternoon, a number of court police attempted without much success to fend off members of the press at the Taipei District Court, as the reporters chased the president's son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, (
As the press and police officers pushed one another in the chaos, Sanlih Entertainment Television employee Chu Wen-cheng (朱文正) was grabbed by several police officers and forcefully hauled into the court building, where he was taken into custody.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The court police then brought Chu to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office and accused him of interfering with a public function (妨害公務罪).
The court police said they arrested Chu because he hit them and kicked a court police officer during the fray.
Prosecutors released Chu without bail late on Monday night .
Chu, who suffered minor injuries, told the press as he left the prosecutors' office that he neither swung at court police nor assaulted them.
"They got the wrong person," Chu said, adding that several cameramen had recorded the incident from different angles and could prove his innocence.
Widespread footage of the incident shown on several TV stations showed no evidence that Chu had attacked police officers.
Yesterday afternoon, Chu filed a lawsuit against the Taipei District Court police for offenses against personal liberty, causing bodily harm and malfeasance in office. He asked for NT$1 million (US$30,470) in compensation.
Chu claimed that court police beat him while he was in custody.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Yuan yesterday said it would "reflect" on the clash.
"The Judicial Yuan regrets the incident, and it will reflect on whether the court police overreacted ... But now that prosecutors have started probing the matter, any conclusions had better be made after the completion of the investigation," Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Fan Kuang-chun (
Fan said chaos often occurs at courts nationwide when the press chases important figures as they attend hearings.
"Regulations on press practices inside and outside the courts should be created to prevent this kind of chaos from repeatedly happening," he added.
The Taipei District Court yesterday afternoon also issued a press statement offering an apology for the incident.
Government Information Office Minister and Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) yesterday said that guaranteeing reporters' safety should be the most important thing during media events.
"Things like this could be avoided if the Taipei District Court prepared and arranged proper working areas for reporters during an event," Cheng said.
"No matter what, reporters' safety should be the priority at all times," Cheng said.
Cheng said that there might have been some misunderstandings in this case.
However, any violence should be investigated and people who attack others should not be forgiven, Cheng said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS