In the wake of the alleged murder of a young police officer by an arrested suspect, Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) declared to a legislative meeting yesterday that the training session for officers recruited from regular colleges will be extended to 18 months.
Jiang made the declaration during an Internal Administration Committee meeting as lawmakers across party lines expressed concerns about the personal safety of police officers.
Police officer Lai Chih-yan (賴智彥), 27, was stabbed more than 10 times in the neck and back by a crime suspect surnamed Dai (戴) on Monday evening, police said. Dai was not handcuffed or searched before he was put in the back seat of the police car. When the car arrived at the police station, Dai allegedly took out a knife and stabbed Lai in a vain attempt to flee.
Jiang said the tragedy could have been averted if Lai and his colleagues had followed the proper procedures when making the arrest, and longer training may help prevent similar incidents in the future.
“When arresting a wanted suspect, the officer must first conduct a body search and handcuff the suspect. When bringing a suspect back to the police station in a police car, there must be at least one other officer sitting in the back seat with the suspect,” Jiang said. “Unfortunately none of the procedures were followed in this case.”
Lai attended a regular college and received one year of training after passing the police exam. He had been working as a police officer since the beginning of the year.
Currently, graduates from the two-year Taiwan Police College and from regular colleges who pass the police officer exam and receive one year of training may become police officers.
“Beginning in 2011, the training session for recruits who have not attended the police academy will be extended from 12 months to 18 months,” Jiang said.
However, the announcement did not satisfy the lawmakers.
“More than 600 new recruits are expected to pass the police exam next year before the extended training program is in place,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said. “That means we’re putting more than 600 underprepared new officers on the job, that just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“I demand that next year’s police exam be suspended, until the better training program is in place,” he added.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) supported Wu’s call.
Jiang, on the other hand, said that he had no objection to the idea in principle, but there are many technical issues to be resolved before calling off the exam.
“We will discuss the situation with the Examination Yuan to see if this is possible,” Jiang said.
Meanwhile, both Wu and Huang, as well as Democratic Progressive Party legislators Yu Tian (余天) and William Lai (賴清德) said the penalty of demerits would be too light for Lai Chih-yan’s colleagues, the police station chief and the precinct chief.
They urged the chief of Zhongshan Precinct, where Lai Chih-yan worked, to step down.
“I will ask the National Police Agency to turn in a detailed report on the incident within three days, and will give a clear answer on whether high-ranking officers should resign,” Jiang said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS