Kaohsiung Prison warden Chen Shih-chih (陳世志) and two other senior officials were removed from their positions and demoted following a Ministry of Justice report that found them culpable for mishandling a deadly hostage siege at the prison.
The ministry released its assessment report on the Kaohsiung Prison siege late on Thursday night, which provided new information and eyewitness accounts.
Aside from being demoted, Chen, along with deputy warden Lai Cheng-jung (賴政榮) and Guard and Control Section head Wang Shih-chang (王世倉), each received a major demerit.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
The report came two weeks after the 14-hour siege at Kaohsiung Prison on Feb. 11 and 12, which culminated in the apparent suicides of six inmates and left many questions as to what had happened.
Although reprimands were meted out to a total of 23 prison officials, the report’s main focus was on Chen and his two deputies, Lai and Wang.
Agency of Corrections director Wu Hsien-chang (吳憲璋) was also given a major demerit, while deputy director Chiu Hung-chi (邱鴻基) was given a minor demerit.
Delivered by Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) on Thursday night, the report painted a dramatically different picture from the initial Feb. 13 report, which portrayed Chen and his deputies as heroes who made courageous efforts to foil the attempted jailbreak.
“Through the first 30 minutes, warden Chen did not know anything serious was happening in the prison, and carried on with his inept leadership. The command structure and communication links broke down, and he was not on top of the situation as it developed. None of the deputies or supervisors reported to the warden during that time to inform him of what was happening,” the report said.
“This led to lost opportunities to contain the events and resulted in a major crisis at the prison. It is clear that warden Chen is unsuitable for the senior post, and he has been demoted to a section chief position at the Agency of Corrections,” Chen Ming-tang said.
Critics and media said Chen Shih-chih has gone from “hero to zero,” as the report has shown him to be “an incompetent, bungling prison chief” who was taken hostage at gunpoint after he heedlessly rushed to the scene, and then pretended to “sacrifice” himself by offering himself in exchange for the hostages who were taken earlier.
The report also pointed to other blunders and bad decisionmaking that led to the situation going out of control.
The report said Chen Shih-chih acquiesced to the prisoners by ordering two getaway vehicles to enter the prison and was found to be carrying a handgun when he was released unharmed, but he had denied this when asked by reporters.
The report represents embarrassing backtracking on the initial report — endorsed by Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) — which lauded Chen Shih-chih and his deputies for “displaying courage to shoulder their responsibilities” and “handing the situation with befitting appropriateness.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) last night said the prison officials should not just be demoted and given demerits, but should be fired and prosecuted.
She added that Luo should resign over her handling of the affair.
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) also demanded Luo’s resignation.
“This is another big scandal, following last year’s bribery probe of imprisoned tycoon Gary Wang (王令麟) at Taipei Prison last year,” Chou said. “Luo should apologize to the public and resign.”
MUSICAL INTERLUDE: During the altercations, KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin at one point pulled out a flute and started to play the national anthem A massive brawl erupted between governing and opposition lawmakers in the main chamber of the legislature in Taipei yesterday over legislative reforms. President-elect William Lai (賴清德) is to be inaugurated on Monday, but his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in the legislature and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has been working with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) to promote their mutual ideas. The opposition parties said the legislative reforms would enable better oversight of the Executive Yuan, including a proposal to criminalize officials who are deemed to make false statements in the legislature. “The DPP does not want this to be
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
A group of 30 foreign academics yesterday released a statement condemning legislative reforms proposed by opposition lawmakers, saying they are unconstitutional and undermine the objective of good governance. The statement publicized at a news conference in Taipei is cosigned by international academics, journalists and politicians, including former American Institute in Taiwan directors William Stanton and Stephen Young, and Formosan Association for Public Relations president Bob Yang (楊英育). The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) have put forward a set of legislative reforms that would introduce “contempt of legislature” charges, require the president to answer lawmakers’ questions and expand the
PURSUING PEACE: As the new president took office, he reiterated Taiwan’s sovereignty while saying that the nation must cooperate with other democracies President William Lai (賴清德) in his inaugural speech yesterday called on Beijing to acknowledge Taiwan’s government and engage in dialogue with Taipei, saying that both sides are responsible for promoting peace in the Taiwan Strait. “I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China’s existence” and “in good faith ... engage in cooperation with the legal government chosen by Taiwan’s people,” Lai said in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. Lai reaffirmed that his government would adhere to former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy toward China and work to maintain the “status quo.” Lai advocated for dialogue