The New Taipei District Court on Feb. 25 found a police officer who had sat on the neck of a man he was arresting for eight minutes guilty of assault and sentenced him to six months in prison.
The court said that Pan Hui-tsung (潘惠宗), who at the time of the incident in March 2019 worked at the New Taipei City Police Department’s Banciao Precinct, endangered the suspect, as the officer weighs nearly 100kg.
It imposed a heavy sentence because Pan was a public servant and did not acknowledge his guilt, the court said, adding that Pan and the victim, surnamed Tsao (曹), did not reach a settlement.
The incident occurred when Pan and other officers attempted to arrest Tsao after he allegedly rode his motorbike in the wrong lane, it said.
Tsao — who had a blood alcohol level of 0.17 milligrams per liter, according to a breath alcohol test — refused to take a balance test and called the officers “losers,” upon which Pan grappled with him, it said.
He then sat on the neck of the handcuffed Tsao for eight minutes, the court said, citing the other officers involved.
Pan also shook the victim and ground his face against the asphalt, which caused abrasions and contusions, it said.
As Tsao was incapable of resisting, Pan used excessive force beyond what is permitted to police in such situations, the court said.
It rejected Pan’s claim that he was seeking to protect Tsao from harming himself or the other officers, the court said.
The officers had called for backup, but Pan told them that they should “take their time” and taunted Tsao, the court said.
The verdict can be appealed.
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