Ministry of Justice’s Agency of Corrections was criticized yesterday for its investigation report on the Kaohsiung Prison hostage-taking and siege incident on Wednesday and Thursday, because it praised the warden and other jail officials, but did not dispense any punishment for mishandling and negligence by staff.
Released on Friday, one day after the siege ended in the suicide of the six convicts, the report lauded Kaohsiung Prison warden Chen Shih-chih (陳世志), deputy warden Lai Cheng-jung (賴振榮) and head guard Wang Shih-tsang (王世倉) for “displaying courage to shoulder their responsibility” and “handling the situation with befitting appropriateness.”
The report pointed to several flaws in the handling of the incident and called for improvements in security at the facility, and in regulating coverage by media outlets.
The ministry said that the report was focused on uncovering the circumstances that allowed the six inmates to take hostages during the 14-hour standoff, adding that a separate report relating to disciplinary action against prison officials for poor oversight is to be published next week.
Of particular concern was insufficient security at the prison’s armory, the lack of adequate surveillance systems and poor vigilance among supervisors, the report said.
Other shortcomings found by the ministry included a personnel shortage, an inability to prevent the media from using camera drones and the failure to establish a single channel for releasing media statements.
The prison was unable to prevent weapons such as steel bars and scissors from being obtained by inmates, as prison guards failed to adequately frisk prisoners and conduct security checks, the report said.
Prison supervisors also failed to detect that the six inmates involved feigned their illnesses when they requested to be examined by an orthopedic specialist, the report said.
The Agency of Corrections said that Kaohsiung Prison, a maximum-security facility, was not equipped to offer adequate counseling to its high population of violent and major-crime offenders, adding that due to chronic understaffing, a single correction officer is often required to escort multiple inmates during visitation hours, or for medical examinations.
Commentators slammed the report for failing to mention prison officials’ negligence of their duties, adding that an independent investigation should be conducted by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, and not by the ministry’s Agency of Corrections, as Kaohsiung Prison falls under the agency’s jurisdiction.
Some commnetators said the report was “a closed-door self-assessment to protect fellow friends,” adding that it lacked credibility because “judge and jury are on the same team as the defendants.”
“You have so many firearms taken by the inmates, but the report found no faults by any prison official, and then goes on to pile high praise on the warden? Get serious!” a netizen surnamed Lee (李) wrote.
“This is unbelievable! A jailbreak plot and hostage-taking situation took place, but there is no punishment for the prison warden or minister of justice? Is the report telling everyone that Taiwan’s prison system and its management is the best in the world?” another commentator wrote.
“How did the inmates, using only scissors, seize rifles and handguns to shoot up the whole prison, and create a big turmoil? This shows the prison warden and guards were totally useless, and unable to deal with the crisis situation. It is clear that they are unfit for the job,” another netizen named Chu Sin-cheng wrote.
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