Taipei Times
Date: Apr 20, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
The New Power Party (NPP) caucus yesterday proposed amendments to the
Criminal Code to extend the government’s jurisdiction over criminal offenses committed abroad amid alleged international telephone fraud involving Taiwanese overseas, while the party urged China to share evidence to facilitate a joint criminal investigation.
The party plans to revise Article 7 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that the code applies where Taiwanese commit an offense abroad that is punishable by more than three years in prison.
The party proposed to drop the three-year minimum prison term as a requisite for the code’s application.
“The revision will no longer limit the application of the Criminal Code to serious offenses, but the code would apply where an offense committed abroad is punishable by local laws. That would provide legal grounds for Taiwan to request extradition or international judicial cooperation in cases involving Taiwanese, regardless of the severity of offense,” NPP Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said. “Criminal investigations can be improved only if judicial jurisdiction can be maintained. Only by doing this can we crack down on telephone fraud rings.” [FULL STORY]