The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that would impose a prison sentence of up to three years for drivers who test positive for narcotics, adding a testing requirement to the current law and eliminating a stipulation that use of drugs prevented the person from driving safely.
Drivers who test positive for narcotics, anesthetics or similar products face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to NT$300,000 (US$9,562), the amendment to Article 185-3 states, bringing the definition in line with that for drunk driving, which specifies testing criteria.
Current regulations state that if the offense results in death, the offender can be sentenced to three to 10 years in jail and may be fined up to NT$2 million, or if it causes serious injuries, the offender may be jailed for one to seven years and fined up to NT$1 million.
Photo courtesy of the Tainan Police Department via CNA
The Executive Yuan proposed the amendment in June last year to make driving under the influence of narcotics, anesthetics and similar products more explicit, stating that a positive urine test would indicate a direct violation of the law.
The amendment also states that even if the driver’s narcotics test is not positive, but there are circumstances that give credible proof that they are a drug user and could harm public safety by driving, the driver would still be considered in violation of Article 185-3.
Separately yesterday, the Legislative Yuan passed third reading amendments to the Occupational Therapist Act (職能治療師法), granting occupational therapists more leeway in exercising their professional expertise.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said she proposed the amendments after the Ministry of Health and said that occupational therapists were no longer required to serve only at medical institutions.
DPP legislators Chuang Ching-cheng (莊競程) and Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) said occupational therapists would no longer be constrained to being assistants in therapies.
Requiring a doctor’s diagnosis for all conditions significantly hampers the ability of occupational therapists to contribute to promoting health, preventing injuries, raising awareness of proper safeguards when playing sports and delaying the onset of disabilities, they said.
The amended Article 12 states that occupational therapists should follow the diagnoses or notices from doctors, but not in cases which do not involve treatment of a disease.
The amendment was followed with an affixed resolution demanding that the ministry convene meetings and define the parameters of “not for treatment of a disease” within three months of the amendment taking effect.
New Power Party Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭) said that the law governing occupational therapists was outdated, showing gross disrespect toward the profession.
Wang said she hoped the Legislative Yuan would continue to push for more amendments that would allow occupational therapists to contribute to the promotion of long-term healthcare, psychiatric rehabilitation, children’s medicine and special education.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS