Newly inaugurated Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) yesterday said that he has assigned judicial investigators to Hualien County to investigate allegations of abuse of power by Hualien prosecutor Lin Chun-yu (林俊佑), who reportedly interrogated kindergarten children and teachers for bullying his daughter.
“Prosecutors enforce the law and should themselves abide by the law. How could there be an abuse of power like this? I was deeply distressed to hear of the case and feel that Lin’s conduct is contemptible,” Tsai said.
Tsai said he has sent the Ministry of Justice’s chief secretary and a chief prosecutor to the kindergarten in question.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Tsai said that public prosecutors are already on the case, and the Prosecutorial Evaluation Committee could convene as early as next week to decide on disciplinary measures.
“Dismissing him would be the most severe punishment,” he added.
Tsai said he supports instituting a mechanism to remove prosecutors who are found to be unsuited to their jobs.
Photo: Copy by Wang Chin-i, Taipei Times
“Although it might be an isolated case, I demand that all prosecutors abide by the law when carrying out their work,” Tsai said. “Closer monitoring of prosecutors’ actions as criteria for their year-end job evaluations will be enforced.”
The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday announced that Lin had been relieved from his public prosecution duties and would be transferred to the Enforcement Section, effective next week.
Lin, 44, allegedly brought two senior police officials from Hualien’s Yuli (玉里) Police Precinct to the kindergarten on June 21 and June 28.
Surveillance camera footage showed him ordering the teachers to stand aside while he interrogated his daughter’s classmates, who are two to four years old.
Lin reportedly shouted and used harsh language, demanding that his daughter’s bully be identified, which made some children urinate on the spot.
The footage showed him yelling at the teachers, some of whom began crying.
It then showed him demanding that the kindergarten’s proprietor hand over the footage and threatening her by saying: “If not, are you ready to come to the prosecutors’ office? Are you ready to be put in prison?”
Ministry of Justice officials said charges have been filed against Lin for intruding on private property, uttering threats and forcible confinement.
The two police officials were reprimanded and each received a demerit.
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