The Keelung Police Bureau on Wednesday announced penalties for 13 officers in its Third Precinct after confirming that eight of them recently attended a birthday celebration for a local gang leader.
In the early hours of Tuesday, a member of the public posted a video on a public Facebook group allegedly showing Keelung police officers at a birthday party for the Cidu District (七堵) head of the Heavenly Way Alliance’s (天道盟) Taiyang Hui gang.
The Keelung Police Bureau launched an investigation into the allegations later that morning, and announced that it had imposed penalties on eight officers who attended the event, and five senior officers in the precinct.
A sergeant in the Third Precinct’s criminal investigation division, surnamed Cheng (鄭), had invited seven other officers to the gathering at a restaurant in Keelung’s Nuannuan District (暖暖) on the evening of Friday last week, the bureau said in a statement.
While Cheng did report the matter in advance, he falsely said the purpose of his visit was to “consult” with the gang leader, it said.
For submitting a false report, as well as “severely” harming the reputation of the police when the video was disseminated, Cheng received two demerits on his employment record and was demoted.
Meanwhile, the seven other officers who attended the event also faced disciplinary measures for failing to make proper reports and not following police guidelines on interactions with “designated individuals,” it said.
They received varying punishments, including demotion, demerits on their records and being assigned to desk duty, the statement said.
Five other police officials, including the Third Precinct chief, deputy chief and investigative division captain, received official reprimands or demerits for poor oversight and insufficient internal controls, it said.
Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said he expects all public servants, including police officers, to exercise better discretion and hold themselves to higher standards on matters pertaining to organized crime.
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