The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft bill to strip the possibility of parole for criminals sentenced to 10 years or more for murder, attempted murder or child abuse resulting in severe injury or death.
The Cabinet said in its proposal that the new rule aims to “deter major violent crime.”
It was approved as part of a broader package of amendments drafted by the Ministry of Justice, but must still be reviewed by the Judicial Yuan before moving to the legislature.
Photo: Chen Kuan-bei, Taipei Times
Other amendments in the package seek to address Constitutional Court judgements issued between 2021 and last year concerning parole and death penalty conditions.
One of the proposals would bar courts from imposing the death penalty on defendants whose judgement was found to be impaired by mental or cognitive illness during the crime or trial.
The Criminal Code currently exempts only those younger than 18 or older than 80 from capital punishment.
A Constitutional Court ruling last year found that sentencing someone to death while they are unable to defend themselves due to cognitive impairment breaches their constitutional right to a fair legal defense.
The court added that such punishment conflicts with Article 19 of the Criminal Code, which states that people may have their sentence reduced when their ability to recognize the illegality of their actions is impaired due to cognitive conditions.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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