Reverend Huang Ming-chen (黃明鎮) yesterday urged authorities to gain a better understanding of what former inmates, especially rapists, need during rehabilitation, instead of simply continuing to restrict their freedom by using radio frequency identification tags.
Huang made his remarks when asked by reporters about convicted rapist Yang Tsung-yen (楊宗諺), who destroyed his electronic tag and was on the run in Hualien on Thursday.
Huang has long been involved in trying to rehabilitate criminals. In the past he has tried to help offenders such as Chen Chin-hsing (陳進興), who kidnapped and raped entertainer Pai Bing-bing’s (白冰冰) daughter Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕) in 1997; the “Huakang Wolf” Yang Wen-hsiung (楊文雄), who committed a series of rapes in Taipei’s Shilin and Beitou districts in 1995, and Hung Hsiao-hui (洪曉慧), who murdered her love rival before mutilating her body on the campus of National Tsing Hua University in 1998.
Hualien police said Yang Tsung-yen was paroled last August and was required to wear an electronic device so the authorities could track his whereabouts. He was scheduled to have the device taken off on July 8.
On Thursday officers discovered that Yang Tsung-yen had destroyed the device and left it at home before fleeing. His parole was immediately canceled.
Police were still looking for him as of press time.
Huang said that care and love from friends, family, society and authorities were more useful than electronic devices. The objective for him and other prison guardians was to help former inmates face up to their faults and try to change.
“When you ask the person to wear the electronic device, it reflects that you still do not believe in this person, and that is hard for the parolee to take,” Huang said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS