TAIPEI \u2022 Taiwan plans to ramp up punishments for those who cause a fatal accident while drink driving, including the death penalty for the most egregious cases, sparking an outcry from abolition and rights groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft amendment to the Criminal Code that would make death by drink driving an indictable murder offence, potentially punishable by death if the deed is deemed “intentional”, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposal needs parliamentary approval, but comes after a spate of high-profile deaths that generated widespread outrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The maximum sentence in Taiwan for causing a death while drunk behind the wheel is 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new proposal would increase jail sentences for repeat offenders who commit a new offence within five years of their first conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They face up to a life sentence for causing a death and 12 years for grave injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Justice Ministry said in a statement: “Cases of drink driving leading to death are rampant… drink drivers recklessly caused accidents that took lives and destroyed families to result in irreparable regret.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one notorious case in January, a 40-year-old man crashed his van into a taxi while driving intoxicated, killing three people and injuring three others, including himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very few countries employ the death penalty for drink driving cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China previously vowed to execute those who have killed behind the wheel, and some states in the United States retain capital punishment for such cases.ADVERTISING<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2014, a Texas man was indicted on “capital murder” charges after he ploughed his car into a crowd, killing four people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, in the end, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several rights groups, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, yesterday issued a joint statement criticising the proposed amendment and calling for “rational legislation for irrational drink driving”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“There is a lack of evidence and research that seeking grave penalties and legislation would truly prevent drink driving,” the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan resumed capital punishment in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, despite ongoing calls from local and international rights groups for its abolition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Various surveys over the years have shown support from the public for keeping the death penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taiwan executed a man who murdered his former wife and their daughter last September, the first execution carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen’s government, which took office in 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI \u2022 Taiwan plans to ramp up punishments for those who cause a fatal accident while drink driving, including the death penalty for the most egregious cases, sparking an outcry from abolition and rights groups. The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft amendment to the Criminal Code that would make death by drink driving an indictable murder offence, potentially punishable by… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analysis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3331,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3330\/revisions\/3331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}