"If you can't beat them, join them." This appears to be the new motto for some members of the Taipei police force. Perhaps realizing the impossibility of eliminating the world's oldest profession, some rotten apples in the force have chosen to exercise their entrepreneurial talents by either investing in brothels or opening their own houses of ill-repute. Others, apparently interested more in a quick buck than in long-term profits, have allegedly been kidnapping Chinese prostitutes and holding them for a ransom from the brothels.
Reports of such flagrant violations of the law by those charged with upholding it are outrageous. Even more outrageous is what appears to be a wanton abuse of police power and authority. It appears that some officers are no longer content with taking payoffs or "red envelopes" in return for tip-offs about upcoming raids or crackdowns. Instead, those who are supposed to be conducting such raids are keeping busy running their businesses -- confident that they are virtually immune from being caught.
The same abuse of power is seen in those officers who would rather hold a Chinese prostitute -- usually an illegal immigrant -- for ransom rather than arrest her. While many of these women may have entered Taiwan illegally, often through dummy marriages or as stowaways, they do not deserve such demeaning treatment. These women are especially vulnerable, as many of them fear being sent back to China before they make enough to clear the debts they incurred to come to Taiwan. It is doubly appalling that many end up as pawns in a tug-of-war between crooked cops and sleazy brothel owners. Not to mention the cases of Chinese women who found themselves being forced into prostitution after being tricked into dummy marriages with Taiwanese.
Reports of police corruption rarely raise eyebrows these days, except when very high-ranking officials are implicated or, as in the present cases, when the crooks' creativity appears to have reached a new high. However, questions must also be raised about the way in which some of these allegations of corruption have been aired.
The two most recent cases of alleged misconduct were publicized at separate press conferences held by two Taipei City councilmen, who showed no hesitation in naming names. While there is no doubt that the police force does harbor bad apples, it is wrong to assume the named officers are guilty without an official investigation or trial. As some of the officers implicated in the present scandals are known for busting brothels in the past, their claims of having been set up by unhappy brothel operators could be true. The councilmen each appeared quite content to play investigator, prosecutor and judge all on their own.
But then again, in view of the "wall of blue" that exists in police forces around the world -- the inclination to stonewall outside investigations and protect their own -- there is always the chance that these corruption scandals would have been swept under the rug had the councilmen simply reported their allegations to the police brass.
These new scandals highlight once again the need for an independent body with the authority and power to investigate allegations of misconduct by the police and other civil servants. It is time that Taiwan followed Hong Kong's example and set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption. Hong Kong's ICAC was set up in 1974 with a mission to investigate and prevent corruption and educate the public not to accept graft as a "necessary evil." It has achieved remarkable results.
The people of Taiwan have demonstrated their desire to see "black gold" politics eliminated. There is no reason they should have to tolerate graft and corruption in any form of public service either.
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