An officer at the Republic of China Army’s Guandu Area Command (陸軍關渡地區指揮部) in New Taipei City was found guilty of robbery and given nine months in prison by the Hsinchu District Court this week.
News of the theft sparked concerns of deteriorating troop discipline and flaws in equipment audit procedures, as raised by commentators and members of the public who had served in the nation’s armed forces.
The court found the company commander, surnamed Chen (陳), who headed up No. 3 Company of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the Guandu Area Command, had instructed his subordinates to steal 16 field combat backpacks from a military warehouse to replace items missing from his company, in September 2013.
According to the court statement on Wednesday, Chen and his unit were participating in field combat exercises at an army training center in Hsinchu County when his subordinates reported his unit had 16 field backpacks missing.
The standard procedure called for detailed checks on weapons, personal gear and other equipment at regular intervals, and the entire unit would be punished for missing items or surpluses.
According to witness accounts and other evidence, Chen told his subordinates that field backpacks were stored at a warehouse inside the training center, and said: “I will take leave tonight, and I want to see those backpacks in the morning.”
A sergeant at Chen’s unit knew the warehouse stored gear and supplies for the Taoyuan City-based 269th Armored Brigade, who were also engaged in the exercises, the court statement said.
The seargent asked Chen: “Does it mean we are to steal the backpacks from the 269th Armored Brigade?”
Chen nodded his head, so the sergeant proceeded to lead three other soldiers, carrying pliers and cutters, as they sneaked into the warehouse to steal 16 backpacks, which they brought back to their company during the night, according to the investigation.
The soldiers proceeded to use oiled rags to remove the printed labels from the backpack canvas, which identified the items as belonging to the 269th Armored Brigade, but one soldier found his backpack still had an identifiable original label and reported the matter to a military inspector.
Through the investigation and trial hearing, prosecutors said they found Chen instructed his subordinates to commit perjury, telling them not to provide facts about the incident and not to admit guilt.
The ruling said Chen had violated the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) by forming gangs to commit theft while carrying weapons, and handed him a nine-month term, while the four soldiers received suspended sentences of six months each, which may be commuted to fines, and 40 hours of community service.
Commentators said the incident shows military discipline is severely lacking, but others defended the soldiers by saying they are victims of deficiencies and flaws in the military system, in which the troops did not have proper gear and supplies, but had to meet the required quota on auditing.
People also wrote to relate their experience during military service, saying it was quite common to steal from other units, or from civilians, to meet requests and conditions imposed by high-ranking officers, and said the nation’s armed forces must undertake reforms.
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