Lawmakers yesterday passed amendments to the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法) to toughen penalties for repeat drunk drivers and tighten rules covering the spread of rumors about the military.
Under the amendments, military personnel on parole or probation after being convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or narcotics and fatally injuring others would face a prison term of five years to life if they were found to have committed a second DUI offense within five years.
Repeat offenders who severely injure others during their probation period or while on parole would face a prison term of three to 10 years, the amendments state.
Photo: CNA
If the offenders were driving military or government-assigned vehicles at the time of the second offense, they would face 1.5 times the original punishment, the amendments state.
Lawmakers in May approved proposals to increase the penalties for civilians’ DUI offenses through a third reading on the legislative floor, but did not address penalties for military personnel at that time.
Yesterday’s amendments bring penalties for military personnel in line with those for civilians.
Meanwhile, a rule against military personnel spreading disinformation about the military has been bolstered to include those that relay rumors or false information.
If convicted, offenders would face a maximum prison term of three years, detention or a fine of up to NT$300,000.
The rule had previously only applied to those that had fabricated or disseminated such disinformation.
The amended provision stipulates that military personnel who spread rumors or false information about the military through television broadcasts, electronic communication or the Internet would face 1.5 times the original penalty.
The Executive Yuan, which sponsored the draft amendments regarding disinformation, said the rule previously did not cover people who pass on rumors and therefore was insufficient to curb the spread of fake news.
The amendment targets various formats of disinformation, including text, pictures and footage, it said.
The morale among military personnel would be seriously affected if false information were spread through TV, electronic communication and the Internet, which have a wide coverage, so it is necessary to stiffen penalties for such actions, it said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS