Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on Monday said they would seek to amend the Juvenile Justice Act (少年事件處理法) to require that victims’ opinions be considered in parole reviews, following an outcry that the sentencing of two teenagers for the stabbing death of a fellow student was too lenient.
In December 2023, a male student stabbed a ninth-grader, identified by his surname, Yang (楊), following an argument between Yang and a female student at an unnamed New Taipei City junior high school. The female student allegedly urged the other male student to “kill” Yang during an ensuing fight. Yang was taken to Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), where he died the following evening.
The New Taipei City District Court’s juvenile court in October 2024 sentenced the male student to nine years in prison and the female student to eight years. Following an appeal, the High Court in December last year raised the sentences to 12 years for the boy and 11 years for the girl.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, the victim’s family said after the High Court ruling that the sentence was insufficient and fell short of their expectation of a 30-year prison term.
KMT legislators, led by Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), on Monday told reporters they would propose a “graded parole” mechanism for serious crimes, and that input from the victim and their family must be considered during parole reviews.
The amendments to the act would “restore fairness and justice” for victims, Hung said, adding that he hoped a bill could be scheduled for review in the coming weeks and that government agencies would draft their own proposals.
Under the proposed graded parole system, in cases of premeditated murder, injuries resulting in death or other intentional violent acts resulting in death where the final prison sentence is 10 years or more, parole would be strictly prohibited, while the parole review must take into consideration input from the victim’s family members, Hung said.
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