Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (???) said Friday that he will examine the circumstances surrounding the getaway of a prisoner charged with the recent murder of two police officers, and those found culpable will be held accountable.
The Tainan District Prosecutors Office has already been asked to submit a report on why an arrest warrant was not issued for the prisoner Lin Hsin-wu (???) when he failed to report back to the minimum security prison after being granted two-day leave to visit his family, Tsai said.
Lin was on the lam for seven days, during which time he allegedly stole a motorbike and brutally stabbed to death two police officers, who were trying to find the bike, according to law enforcement authorities.
Tsai said that the warden Tu Tsung-tien (???) at Mingde Minimum-Security Prison in Tainan, where Lin was imprisoned, will be transferred to a different post while the justice ministry’s investigation is ongoing, as he was the person who had approved the two-day release of the prisoner.
The minister said that while Taiwan law allows inmates at minimum security prisons to seek temporary release every three months to visit their families, they should be required to report to a police precinct on a daily basis during the leave period.
Furthermore, prison administrators should closely monitor the inmates’ whereabouts during the leave period and keep records, which would serve as reference for reviewing requests for temporary release, Tsai said, outlining his plans for revision of the laws.
If an inmate fails to return after temporary release, prison administrators should immediately alert the police and inform prosecutors within two hours, so that an arrest warrant could be issued, the justice minister said.
According to deputy warden Chiang Chen-hen (???) at the Mingde prison, prosecutors had been notified when Lin failed to return to the prison on Aug. 15 after his two-day leave.
When Tainan prosecutors were asked on Aug. 23 why they had not issued a warrant for Lin’s arrest after they were notified, they told reporters that inmates like Lin are subject to arrest by the police, whether or not they are on a wanted list.
Lin was arrested Aug. 23 during a manhunt that lasted 17 hours after he allegedly stabbed the two police office multiple times, robbed a store and hopped on several different forms of transport to evade police.
On Wednesday, he was charged with the murder of the two officers, Tsao Jui-chieh (???), 27, and Tu Ming-cheng (???), 36.
The killing of the two policemen has sparked wide public criticism of the government’s management of the prison system, and the sister of one of the deceased men has been calling for accountability.
In particular, those responsible for Lin’s abscondment should be held responsible, Tu Ming-cheng’s sister told Legislative Speaker Yu Si-kun (???) on Thursday, when he visited the mourning hall at a Tainan funeral parlor to pay tribute to the two policemen.
She castigated the prison warden for granting Lin leave and said he was “hiding the truth” to avoid blame for what had happened as a result of his decisions.
She also said that Justice Minister Tsai and Director of the Agency of Corrections Huang Chun-tang (???) were doing nothing but making “hollow promises” with regard to the problems exposed in the case.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan member Lin Kuo-ming (???) said Friday that he will launch an investigation to determine whether there was any dereliction of duty in the case.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel