Upholding Human Rights and Avoiding More Unsolved Cases: A Call for Prosecutorial and Investigative Agencies to Protect the Basic Rights of Ch'en I-hsiung's Family in Accordance with the Law

This morning (March 9, 2005), the Taiwan Association for Human Rights held a press conference to issue a statement regarding the March 19 Special Investigation Team taking away the wife and children of suspect Ch'en I-hsiung and listing three family members as defendants. The Judicial Reform Foundation attended the event by invitation based on its commitment to safeguarding the procedural human rights of defendants.

According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau on March 7, a man named Ch'en I-hsiung allegedly shot the president and vice president on March 19 of last year out of "dissatisfaction with society," and subsequently committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Ch'en's wife told the police that after seeing the footage released by the police, her husband told her, "I will handle what I have done myself," and left three suicide notes, which she claimed to have burned. To protect Ch'en I-hsiung's wife and children, the March 19 Special Investigation Team has taken them into custody, and prosecutors intend to list Ch'en I-hsiung's three family members as defendants.

The Judicial Reform Foundation stated that during the investigation process, the police used the pretext of "assisting with the investigation" to have individuals related to the case "voluntarily" accept questioning. However, these individuals are often unaware of their potential status in the investigation, which may lead them to make self-incriminating statements and forfeit their right to defense in criminal proceedings. Such methods not only circumvent the regulations governing police investigations under the Code of Criminal Procedure but are also frequently criticized by the public. In a case as significant and sensitive as the March 19 shooting, the police continue to conduct investigations using the same methods, making it even harder to gain public trust.

Judging from the information released by the Special Investigation Team regarding the March 19 shooting, whether it is the interviews, lie detector tests, or related evidence collection conducted on Ch'en I-hsiung's family, the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates specific procedures and statutory requirements that must be fulfilled. If the Special Investigation Team falls short in these procedures and requirements, the admissibility of the evidence obtained may be challenged in court in the future.

Furthermore, obtaining statements and evidence from family members under the guise of assisting with the investigation, only to later designate them as defendants, leaves the parties in a completely defenseless situation and is highly unfair. To safeguard the right to defense in litigation, the Special Investigation Team should inform Ch'en I-hsiung's family of their due rights and proactively assist them in retaining counsel, so as to comply with the principle of equality of arms required by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

We hope that in such a widely watched shooting incident, the prosecutorial and investigative agencies will handle the matter more comprehensively and appropriately to protect the basic human rights of Ch'en I-hsiung's wife and children, fulfill the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and thereby reduce outside skepticism.