The military is to consider medical records and body mass index (BMI) in addition to a traditional physical examination when determining if a man of conscription age is eligible for an exemption from military service, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
Ministry officials said they would toughen the criteria for conscription exemptions after several entertainers on Tuesday confessed to tampering with the results of their physicals to avoid service.
The New Taipei City Police Department early yesterday arrested Hsieh Kun-da (謝坤達), a member of Taiwanese boy band Energy, after he landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: CNA
Hsieh reportedly avoided military service by falsifying medical records.
Three of the five members of Energy received exemptions from conscription based on their physical status.
The interior ministry has been working with the Ministry of National Defense since May to change the physical exam, after finding that 16 percent of men of conscription age in 2023 were exempted from mandatory military service, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told reporters before attending a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
The exemptions included those who were overweight or reported having cardiovascular diseases, mental illnesses or other health issues, Liu said.
“After comparing records in the National Health Insurance [NHI] database, we think it is highly unlikely that Taiwan has such a high percentage of men who can be exempt from conscription. Some of them might have forged medical documents,” she said.
The two ministries would also change the procedures and the criteria of conscription physical exams by consulting those used in other Asian countries, she added.
Physical exams for conscripts should be thoroughly executed, and results compared with their medical records in the NHI database to determine if they meet the requirements for exemption, she said.
Department of Conscription Administration Director Sheng Che-fang (沈哲芳) told legislators at the committee meeting that under the new system conscripts could be exempt from conscription with a BMI of 45.
“The new policy, once implemented, would make it almost impossible to dodge the draft by gaining weight,” Sheng said.
The index is calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare found that the average height of 18-year-old males from 2017 to 2020 was 1.721m. To reach a BMI of 45 or greater, a man would have to weigh at least 133.3kg.
Previously, people would be automatically exempted from military service if they had hypertension or hypotension, but under the new system, those who claim to have blood pressure abnormalities would be subject to an in-hospital checkup and would only be exempted from conscription if their blood pressure issues are determined to lead to cardiovascular diseases, Sheng said.
Meanwhile, the ministry is also consulting medical professionals about the possibility of setting the BMI range for eligible conscripts to at 15 to 45, he said.
Additionally, men of conscription age who report having minor flat feet could be asked to serve alternative military service instead, he said.
Currently, men of conscription age would not be drafted if they have BMI greater than 35 or smaller than 15, or flat fleet with an arch angle of 165°.
Liu said that prosecutors have targeted doctors who produced falsified medical records for conscripts, without providing further details.
Exposed draft dodgers would be required to fulfill their military service if they are younger than 36, Liu said, adding that the ministry would find ways to handle those older than 36.
The legislature plans to propose amendments to the Enforcement Statute for Substitute Services (替代役實施條例) and other regulations to address issues with the draft dodgers, she said, adding that it would consult defense and health officials and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that penalties for draft dodgers are consistent.
Draft dodgers currently face up to six months in prison, but that sentence might be light considering mandatory military service has been extended to one year from four months, Liu said.
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