Mon, Jul 15, 2002 page2

• Prosecutors say police raids may violate rights

  DRUG CRACKDOWN The National Police Administration says its Ecstasy busts are a big success, but prosecutors say police have lumped the innocent in with the guilty

  • By Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTER
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  The National Police Administra-tion's (NPA's) recent crackdown against Ecstasy users has prompted concern among local prosecutors that the way police raid local night clubs may have violated human rights.

  Under a direct order from the NPA two months ago, police precincts and local police stations across Taiwan have increased their raids on local night clubs, dance clubs and karaoke bars, where the NPA says most Ecstasy users are likely to show up.

  According to the police, each precinct has its own targets to raid regularly. These targets are specific night clubs, dance clubs or karaoke bars, which the NPA says are usually full of drugs users, especially Ecstasy users.

  Police officers are required to apply for search warrants from judges. Once a warrant is obtained, they would raid these targets at around 1am or 2am.

  During a police raid, officers would ask employees to turn on the lights and ask everybody at the scene to get their photo identification cards ready for clearance. At the same time, other officers would begin to search the location for signs of drug use.

  If officers find drugs at the scene but lack suspects, the police would ask everybody to go back to the police station for urine tests for drugs and blood tests for HIV.

  When the Taipei Police Headquarters' Sungshan Precinct (松山分局) raided "The Bund" night club at around noon on July 7, it arrested 14 clubgoers at the scene and tested another 138 for drug use and HIV after they were brought back to the precinct.

  During the raid, the police found 26 Ecstasy pills, seven bottles of Ketamine Hydrochloride (Special K) and 10 marijuana cigarettes.

  But forcing everybody at the scene to undergo urine and blood tests has generated controversy as there is no clear regulation that states it's okay for the police to do so. Unfortunately, there is also no regulation which says they can't.

  While the NPA is pleased with the raids' effectiveness, prosecutors, who often work with the police, said that the crackdown may have vio-lated human rights.

  Prosecutor Chen Jui-jen (陳瑞仁) of the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office (台灣高檢署) said that most officers still don't understand Article 535 of the Constitution, which regulates police conduct in such circumstances.

  The article states that police raids must be carried out with a search warrant and that police cannot proceed without the cooperation of the individuals subject to the raid unless they have sufficient reason to suspect wrongdoing, Chen said.

  "Given this, at `The Bund' last weekend, police should have tested only those clubgoers who were standing next to Ecstasy pills on the ground rather than testing all of them."

  Wang Chi-ming (王啟明) of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office (高雄地檢署) said that police don't have the right to ask everybody at the scene to go back to the station for urine and blood tests.

  "With all due respect, I have not read any law saying that police are allowed to ask everybody to give a urine sample when they are unable to find any drug user right away on the scene," Wang said.

  "The police may explain that they discovered pills on the ground so they decided to arrest those people who were around those pills and determine whether they took any drugs. But what about other innocent people who just happened to be at the location?"

  In addition, a judge at the Taipei District Court (台北地方法院), who wished to remain anonymous, said that it is not proper for the police to ask everybody to undergo a blood test for HIV.

  "First of all, we shouldn't discriminate against HIV-positive people," he said.

  "Second, testing for HIV has nothing to do with crime -- meaning the police have no right to arrest somebody just because he or she is HIV-positive. Third, other than violating human rights, I think it's also violating privacy."

  Lu Hsing-ling (呂幸玲), another Kaohsiung prosecutor, said that the police must be careful and avoid human rights violations when they carry out such raids.

  "Think about it," Lu said. "Suppose you go to a night club just because you are curious about these Ecstasy users and you just want to observe and understand what they are doing. However, suddenly, a group of police officers appears and asks you to go with them even though you have done nothing wrong. What do you think?

  "Law enforcement officers should always remember -- a suspect is not guilty until the court finds him guilty," Lu added.

  However, police said they were actually protecting innocent people by testing everybody at a raided location for drugs and HIV.

  "Ecstasy users will usually throw their pills away immediately when we enter a night club," said Ko Mu-cheng (柯木成), the deputy chief of the Sungshan Precinct. "When we discover pills we ask for the owners and usually nobody speaks up. If we don't test everybody, how can we find the real Ecstasy users?"
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