Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) yesterday said the ministry for the most part supported enacting legislation that would make information about convicted child molesters public.
Asked for comment by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) in the legislature, Tseng said the ministry had established a task force to deliberate over the proposed legislation.
COMPREHENSIVE LAW
The minister said that while officials were inclined to support the idea of publicizing personal information about individuals convicted of sexual offences against minors, a comprehensive law to regulate the matter should also be implemented, Tseng said.
Sun raised the question after civic groups launched a signature bid in northern, central and southern parts of the country on Saturday demanding that the government pursue a law similar to Megan’s Law in the US.
Megan’s Law requires law enforcement authorities to make data on convicted molesters available, including their names, pictures, addresses and nature of their crimes.
The campaign, titled “White Rose Movement,” followed public uproar over recent acquittals and light sentences given to individuals accused of molesting children after judges ruled that it could not be proven that the victims had objected to the actions of the defendants.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office on Sept. 25 calling for incompetent judges to be dismissed.
Sun yesterday called on the Executive Yuan to “take the lead” by pushing through the legislation.
‘SICK’
“Child molesters are different from murderers. The majority of child molesters are sick,” Sun said.
“Such legislation would help deter them from repeating the offense and help parents to be aware of potential dangers. The US can pass this type of act and so can Taiwan,” Sun said.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the government’s views tended to differ from that of activists.
“I completely understand the good intention of the activists to reduce the number of sexual offenses against children, but we still need to consider the appropriateness of the proposed legislation,” he said.
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