On Feb. 25, two suspects in the “88 bullet shootings” case in Tainan on Nov. 10 last year were extradited to Taiwan after being arrested in China.
Prosecutor-General Hsing Tai-chao (邢泰釗) visited Tainan to thank law enforcement officers for their efforts in a moment that looked good for the police.
However, on March 6, alleged gangsters booked a high-profile banquet at a hotel in Taipei, with dozens of attractive “waitresses” lined up to greet attendees.
This might have been a mere act of self-promotion by the gangsters — with the goals being to make a big impression, boost their income from dispute resolution and attract more young men to join — but the ostentation seems to have created the impression that law enforcement is no match for the underworld.
Another example was on Wednesday last week, when an alleged gang leader in New Taipei City’s Lujhou District (蘆洲) laid on an ostentatious procession for his mother’s funeral.
What should the government do about this phenomenon of gangsters gathering for noisy weddings, funerals and celebrations? Which department should handle them and on what legal basis?
In 1991, the Japanese government drew up the Act on the Prevention of Wrongful Acts by Organized Crime Group Members, also known as the Anti-boryokudan Act, in response to brazen behavior by yakuza. The law, which was formulated under the guidance of Japan’s National Police Agency, came into force in 1992. It combines substantive regulations concerning crimes committed by members of violent gangs and procedural regulations that forbid gangster involvement in some matters.
The results of implementation over the following two decades prove that the law has succeeded to some extent in controlling gangs in Japan.
Last year, Satoru Nomura, president of the Kyushu region’s Kudokai syndicate, was sentenced to death by the Fukuoka District Court for one murder and three attempted murders on the basis of the Anti-boryokudan Act and the Japanese penal code.
Taiwan’s police, prosecutors and judges would probably be astonished by such a verdict.
The Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) was implemented to deal with gangs, but it has not had a deterrent effect since 2021, when the then-Council of Grand Justices ruled in Interpretation No. 812 that forced labor as a punishment for criminal offenses was unconstitutional.
However, the Ministry of Justice, which is the authority of the Organized Crime Prevention Act, has not done anything about it, so the only tools left for police to restrain gangs are things like spot checks, which have absolutely no deterrent effect.
Unless gang leaders are willing to spare the embarrassment of police officers, nothing can be done about their activities, even were the prosecutor-general to be there in person.
Under the principles of democracy and rule of law, Taiwan’s law enforcement agencies are in a weak position compared with criminal gangs.
Could Taipei not transfer authority to legislate, amend and interpret the Organized Crime Prevention Act from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of the Interior? The interior ministry could examine the act with reference to the legal systems of Japan and other countries, and submit a set of draft amendments to be deliberated by the Legislative Yuan.
The interior ministry would then have to show that it is determined to enforce the amended law, while civic groups could monitor its implementation and evaluate its effectiveness. Surely this could be done without too much difficulty.
During the Martial Law period, the Ministry of Justice was in charge of writing and amending laws, which meant it was easy for a lack of division of power and unclear division of responsibilities to emerge. If authority to amend the Organized Crime Prevention Act could be transferred to satisfy society’s demand that criminal gangs be controlled, there might be some changes in the situation.
Jeng Shann-yinn is a professor in Kainan University’s Department of Law.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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