National Police Agency Director-General Hou You-yi (
Hou made the comments during a Legislative Yuan question-and-answer session in response to questions from a group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers who were concerned that demonstrating leniency would deal a blow to public order and asserted that most rank-and-file policemen were opposed to the idea.
Under instructions from President Chen Shui-bian (
Hou said that the agency had not conducted polls to gauge the opinions of grass-roots policemen and said that he would not oppose reduced terms for those convicted of minor offenses carrying a sentence of less than one year.
But Hou added that in his capacity as the police officer in charge of maintaining the rule of law and public order across the country, he would "object" to the proposed amnesty if it were to include those convicted of violent offenses.
"Granting amnesty must not affect public order or social morals," he said, adding that "we would clarify our position and offer recommendations if the there were a chance that the proposed amnesty might affect public order."
At a separate event yesterday, Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
The Ministry of Justice said the draft bill would only cut sentences for criminals serving time for minor offenses, adding that it would not commute capital sentences to life sentences or include those convicted of serious crimes and crimes that endanger society.
Crimes involving the sex trade and special financial crimes would also be excluded, it added.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese