Article 286 of the Criminal Code should be amended to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on those guilty of child abuse leading to death, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus has proposed.
Under the current law, “a person who maltreats a minor under the age of 18, or impairs the mental or physical health or development thereof by other means” would be imprisoned for up to five years, while offenses that lead to the death of a minor could result in imprisonment for up to 10 years.
In its proposal, the KMT caucus called for the introduction of the death penalty or life sentencing for the abuse of children aged six or younger that leads to their death. For abuse that does not result in death, the minimum sentence would be raised from six months to seven years under the amendment.
Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
The KMT caucus said the motivation for the proposal came from the public reaction to the death of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai-kai (剴剴), who had allegedly been abused to death by a licensed in-home childcare provider in December last year.
The caregiver, surnamed Liu (劉), was arrested and detained in January in connection with the case.
“Article 286 of the Criminal Code was previously revised in May 2019 to increase the criminal liability for child abuse,” a statement from the caucus said.
“However, since then 25 children nationwide have died as a result of severe abuse. This shows that the previous revision has not curbed child abuse cases, and there is a need to increase criminal penalties.”
Nine proposals on the amendment were introduced by KMT legislators during the most recent legislative session. In addition to the version introduced by the caucus, one other version introduced by KMT legislators Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) and Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) was also submitted for review.
In that version, stricter punishments are stipulated for the abuse of children aged three or younger. Under this version of the amendment, those abusing children up to the age of three would face imprisonment of between five and 12 years, while those whose abuse of a child aged three or younger that leads to the child’s death would face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for