Kaohsiung District Court judges on Monday issued a suspended sentence and five years’ probation to a man convicted of contravening the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) by importing cannabis and cannabis products and imposed a hefty fine.
A Kaohsiung resident surnamed Cheng (鄭) was found to have purchased cannabis products from overseas online 14 times, having the items mailed to his Fongshan District (鳳山) home between January 2016 and April 2017.
After one of the packages was intercepted by authorities, prosecutors conducted a raid of his residence in April 2017, where dried cannabis, cannabis products, an electronic scale and correspondence with cannabis exporters in Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic was found.
Cannabis is classified as a Category 2 narcotic under the act.
Cheng pleaded guilty, but argued that the burns to his limbs, head and neck sustained in a January 2016 gas explosion at the restaurant where he worked had left in him in chronic pain and unable to work.
Court officials confirmed he was severely burned in the explosion, and doctors certified that he had suffered from chronic pain, even after recovering from skin graft surgery.
Cheng told the court that prescribed painkillers such as Fentanyl and Tramadol had not eased his pain, but cannabis had alleviated it.
The judges checked with Kaohsiung Medical University researchers, who provided written confirmation that “research results from Canada, the UK and Australia had found medical cannabis was effective in reducing pains in patients,” the verdict said.
The judges found that Cheng had purchased small amounts of cannabis solely to alleviate his pain, and given his medical condition, they decided to sentence him to two years in prison, suspended for five years, which means that he would be on probation for five years.
They fined him NT$220,000 and also ordered him to complete 240 hours of community service and four legal education sessions.
The judges’ verdict was the first ruling in the case and it can still be appealed.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The military yesterday said it has located the flight data recorder, or black box, of an F-16V jet that disappeared off eastern Taiwan earlier this month, and it would soon deploy a salvage team to try to retrieve it. Air Force Command Headquarters said that while it had pinned down the location of the black box, it was still searching for the aircraft’s sole pilot, air force Captain Hsin Po-yi (辛柏毅). Without providing details, the air force said it had located the black box days after detecting some intermittent signals and would now engage a team of professionals to retrieve it. The air
RSS