Outrage in Taiwan as freed inmate kills prof
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
TAIWAN'S opposition yesterday said President Chen Shui-bian should be held responsible for the death of an academic killed by a former inmate freed last week under a controversial presidential amnesty.
The incident occurred on Monday when Yang Chen-tang, 38, attacked associate professor Hsieh Huan-ju of the prestigious National Taiwan University at a riverside park in Taipei.
Witnesses said Yang, who had a record of drug addiction, theft and robbery, had also chased after other passers-by. Yang was later arrested by police.
The death of the popular pathology professor shocked the island.
"Chen Shui-bian must be held responsible for the professor's death," legislator Hung Hsiu-chu from the leading opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said. Close to 10,000 prisoners — half of them drug addicts — were freed last week under a bill, initiated by Chen and approved by parliament, to halve the jail terms of those serving less than 18 months.
Some 15,000 other inmates also benefited from the legislation.
The move has been strong criticised by opposition politicians, who charged it was aimed at winning votes in forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Another KMT legislator Justin Chou demanded "Chen apologise to his countrymen for the event."
But the president shrugged off the criticism, describing the professor's death as an "isolated case".
"We shouldn't deny the resolution of the recently released inmates who are willing to correct themselves in order to lead a new life, just because of a few isolated cases," he told reporters while viewing an arts exhibition in Taipei.
He jokingly said the ex-convicts who committed crimes again must be those "who have never taken up painting and arts courses."
Chen announced the plan to commute the sentences of those prisoners in May this year, a move the opposition claimed was aimed to sway voters ahead of the parliament and presidential elections earlier next year.
Close to 10,000 prisoners, who were among the 25,000-odd inmates eligible to be released, were freed from July 16.
Criminologist Yeh Yu-nan noted that petty crime offenders, especially those violating the drug and burglary statutes, are the group who would most likely commit the same crimes again. Yeh said authorities must adopt a strict follow-up scheme to prevent these people from committing crimes again.Agencies
The incident occurred on Monday when Yang Chen-tang, 38, attacked associate professor Hsieh Huan-ju of the prestigious National Taiwan University at a riverside park in Taipei.
Witnesses said Yang, who had a record of drug addiction, theft and robbery, had also chased after other passers-by. Yang was later arrested by police.
The death of the popular pathology professor shocked the island.
"Chen Shui-bian must be held responsible for the professor's death," legislator Hung Hsiu-chu from the leading opposition Kuomintang (KMT) said. Close to 10,000 prisoners — half of them drug addicts — were freed last week under a bill, initiated by Chen and approved by parliament, to halve the jail terms of those serving less than 18 months.
Some 15,000 other inmates also benefited from the legislation.
The move has been strong criticised by opposition politicians, who charged it was aimed at winning votes in forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.
Another KMT legislator Justin Chou demanded "Chen apologise to his countrymen for the event."
But the president shrugged off the criticism, describing the professor's death as an "isolated case".
"We shouldn't deny the resolution of the recently released inmates who are willing to correct themselves in order to lead a new life, just because of a few isolated cases," he told reporters while viewing an arts exhibition in Taipei.
He jokingly said the ex-convicts who committed crimes again must be those "who have never taken up painting and arts courses."
Chen announced the plan to commute the sentences of those prisoners in May this year, a move the opposition claimed was aimed to sway voters ahead of the parliament and presidential elections earlier next year.
Close to 10,000 prisoners, who were among the 25,000-odd inmates eligible to be released, were freed from July 16.
Criminologist Yeh Yu-nan noted that petty crime offenders, especially those violating the drug and burglary statutes, are the group who would most likely commit the same crimes again. Yeh said authorities must adopt a strict follow-up scheme to prevent these people from committing crimes again.Agencies
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