The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine.
The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth.
The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander.
The military is committed to rooting out drugs in its ranks by swiftly and severely dealing with any service member found guilty of their use, he said.
Disciplinary proceedings against the officer would be conducted depending on the judgement of the justice system with no leniency or compromise, Chen said.
The army is organizing a task force to investigate whether He had any accomplices and the evaluation procedure utilized for promotions is being scrutinized to exclude unsuitable candidates from leadership, he said.
The man was not recently tested for drugs as he was not required to undergo regular mandatory screenings and only became the commanding officer a month ago, Chen said.
Army personnel not included in the mandatory regular drug screening list are subjected to urine tests at random, and He was tested when serving as a staff officer, Chen added.
The Army Command cannot disclose past results of He’s tests as such matters are potential evidence used in the ongoing legal investigation, Chen said.
Separately, Lu Hsin-ting (盧星廷), an inspector at the Ministry of National Defense’s Department of Resource Planning, said that the ministry is working with the Ministry of the Interior to amend laws governing penalties for evading the military draft.
Changes to the Military Service System Violation Punishment Act (妨害兵役治罪條例) must be calibrated to align with Enforcement Statute for Substitute Services (替代役實施條例) to ensure legal consistency, he said.
The two ministries would announce the proposed changes to the law when ready, he said.
Additional reporting by Wu Chung-ting
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