On April 14, 1997, entertainment star Pai Ping-ping's (白冰冰) daughter Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕) was murdered. On November 18 of the same year, her murderer Chen Chin-hsing (陳進興) held a military attache of the South African embassy and his family hostage in Tienmu (天母).
Two hostages were accidentally shot by stray bullets fired by Chen. Had the injured hostages not been rescued quickly, not only would their lives have been at grave risk, but a panic-stricken Chen may have just gone on a rampage killing everyone in the house. However, if the police forced entry, Chen might also have started a shooting spree before killing himself. Eventually, Chen granted me permission to enter the house and bring out the injured hostages.
As a result of my involvement in this case, I have a few observations to share.
1. In the past, the media has involved itself extensively in many criminal cases and, in general, cooperated with the police in major kidnapping cases to ensure the safety of the hostages.
However, the Pai case was an exception to this practice. The media repeatedly overstepped its bounds. In fact, one journal revealed confidential information regarding the case. To avoid obstruction to crime investigation and danger to the hostages as a result of this leak, the police spent more than NT$400,000 in a single day to buy all copies of the magazine.
2. The courage and determination of Pai Hsia-yen's mother, Pai Ping-ping, in standing up against the kidnappers was admirable. She took detailed notes of every part of the investigation and offered hypotheses about the details of the crime to the police. Her ability to maintain composure and participate in the rescue, despite an extremely sad and fearful mental state, was truly beneficial.
3. Pai Ping-ping's public statement reminded the general public that domestic issues, including crime, were no less important than economic and foreign-relations problems. Never before had one criminal case been the catalyst for the improvement of social conditions.
Demonstrations held on May 4 and 18 that year protesting against the rising crime rate were also ground-breaking. Never before had any non-political demonstrations been participated in by so many people representing such a broad spectrum of Taiwan society. The orderly fashion and peaceful demeanor of the demonstrators had also never been seen before in Taiwan. Recent public concern over crime stemmed largely from the Pai case.
4. The kidnappers' unique approach and characteristics forced the police to re-establish a crisis-management and hostage-rescue negotiation mechanism. The challenge posed to old beliefs and outdated equipment was educational and the police's capacity to deal with such circumstances has since been made all the better.
5. The establishment of an anti-kidnapping team, the drafting of a telecommunications surveillance law and a domestic violence prevention law to protect the safety of women and children, among others, were some of the measures brought, in part, by the Pai case. However, not enough has been done. In terms of personal safety, we need preventive, rather than after-the-fact, measures. Besides making new laws, we also need to improve environmental design to improve safety as well as implement a community policing system.
Hou Yu-ih is the deputy commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
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