The Ministry of Justice is considering increasing penalties for child abuse, including eliminating the potential of parole for cases resulting in the deaths of children under seven years old, Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) said today.
Cheng was responding to questions from lawmakers about increasing penalties for child abuse, after two sisters were sentenced last month for causing the death of a one-year-old boy nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴).
The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws Committee today invited officials from the Ministry of Justice and Judicial Yuan to give a report and answer questions about the factors that influence sentencing guidelines with regard to the death penalty.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
These factors include statements from the victims or relatives, the possibility of re-education or rehabilitation, and Article 57 of the Criminal Code, which lists 10 items that sentencing can take into account, such as motive, education level and the offender’s attitude after the crime.
Lawmakers cited the Kai Kai case as a reason to increase child abuse penalties, after an online petition on the matter received thousands of signatures.
The ministry held a consultation meeting with a criminal law research team yesterday and is to hold another tomorrow, soliciting opinions from all sectors, Cheng said.
However, any amendments proposed would increase penalties, he added.
The ministry has a “zero tolerance” view on child abuse, and would revise the law with this principle in mind, Cheng said.
The ministry is also considering eliminating the possibility of parole for those convicted of abuse for those under seven years old that results in the child’s death, he added.
Many of those who signed the petition want to see the Constitutional Court repeal its judgement on the death penalty handed down in September last year, Taiwan People's Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said.
That judgement ruled that the death penalty is constitutional only for “the most serious” crimes that result in death.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) questioned the “vague wording” of the guidelines, and asked if there were standards for items such as potential for re-education.
This case touches on constitutional powers and previous judgements, Judicial Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Wang Mei-ying (王梅英) said, adding that the Judicial Yuan respects the rulings of the grand justices.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS