Focus Taiwan
Date: 12/31/2020
By: Lin Chang-shun, Liu Shih-yi and Joseph Yeh

Taipei, Dec. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Constitutional Court on Thursday declared that current laws allowing convicted sex offenders to be held in a designated facility for therapy after completing their sentence are "mostly constitutional."

However, the court ruled it "unconstitutional" that the laws do not give convicted sex offenders a chance to express their opinion before making them undergo inpatient treatment after completing their prison term.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) should also ensure such therapy is undertaken as a form of rehabilitation rather than a punishment, it said. Currently the only such facility in Taiwan is inside Taichung Prison.

The court instructed the ministry to make adjustments to the current process within three years to protect the rights of ex-convicts.    [FULL  STORY]