The mistaken arrest of the wrong man in a murder case demonstrates how the police disregard human rights in handling investigations, critics said yesterday.
Chen Jung-chi (
After being detained for three days, Chen was released on Monday night when police found out that he could not have been at the scene of the crime.
"The case reveals fatal flaws in the investigation process," said Sun Yi-hsin (孫一信), deputy secretary-general of the Association for Persons With Intellectual Disabilities.
"Either the police or prosecutors failed to abide by regulations concerning the protection of handicapped people's human rights," he said.
Article 31 of the Criminal Procedure Law (
"Police and prosecutors evidently violated the regulations [in Chen's case]," Sun said at a press conference held by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Jung-chang (
Hung Chieh-su (
"I felt sad that I couldn't help him [Chen] when he was in need of help," Hung said.
"He has a language disability and is unable to express himself well," she said.
Wang urged the police and prosecutors to implement regulations and measures to protect the handicapped so that the mistake does not get repeated.
At a separate setting yesterday, Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Honestly, the police should admit they made a mistake and apologize," Su said.
"I must say, however, that their hard work on the case should also be recognized. Nonetheless, I would ask the police not to repeat their mistake in the future," he said.
Su did not elaborate on the potential punishment for police personnel involved in Chen's mistaken arrest.
"I would ask the police to launch an internal investigation on the issue," he said.
"I think that the high-ranking police officials should come up with the appropriate measures," he said.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to