Effective Jan. 1 next year, sex offenders released from jail before June 30, 2006, may be forced to receive treatment following the legislature’s approval of rules aimed at preventing sexual predators from re-offending.
The amendment to the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) was prompted by an incident in Yunlin County in March in which a 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a sex offender who had just been released on parole after serving more than eight years in prison for sexual and other offenses.
The amendment states that prosecutors or local governments can ask courts to refer sex offenders to medical institutions or other specific sites for compulsory treatment upon completion of their prison terms if they are found to be prone to recidivism following an assessment.
Compulsory treatment for sex offenders is currently imposed only in prison, a practice that has been adopted since Sub-paragraph 1 of Article 91 of the Criminal Code came into effect on July 1, 2006. It does not apply retroactively to individuals who were released before that time.
To enhance supervision, the legislature required the Ministry of the Interior to establish and maintain a nationwide database containing personal information on convicted sex offenders.
The amendment requires sex offenders who victimize people suffering from mental or physical illness and are either unable to or unaware of the need to resist sexual assaults to register their place of residence with local governments, with the records kept for five years after the completion of their prison term.
It also authorizes the police to publicize personal information in newspapers or in other forms when convicted sex offenders who refuse to register with local governments refuse treatment or to undergo a recidivism assessment are on the lam or placed on a wanted list.
The amendment states that convicted juvenile sex offenders or juveniles who are found to have sexually harassed people will have to accept psychosomatic treatment regardless of whether they are placed on probation.
With resolutions attached to the act, the legislature asked the ministry and government agencies to study the possibility of performing chemical castration on sexual offenders and for local governments to publicize the number of people convicted of sexual offenses to remind residents to be vigilant.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
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Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
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