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Ma orders study of ways to reform military law

ROC Central News Agency

2013/07/26 23:58:04

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Stressing the importance of reforms to the military justice system, President Ma Ying-jeou asked three top government organs -- the Executive Yuan, Legislation Yuan, and Judicial Yuan -- to begin discussions and conduct a joint study on the reform of military law, a spokesperson said Friday.

Ma made the comments during his meeting with Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu earlier in the day, in which the latter briefed him on the case of an Army corporal who died on July 4 and the proposals drafted by the Ministry of National Defense to better protect human rights in the military, Presidential Office spokeswoman Garfi Li stated.

Quoting Ma, Li said legal reforms in the military will involve changes to the Code of Court Martial Procedure and the Act of Punishment of the Armed Forces, as well as a decision on whether military personnel facing criminal charges should be prosecuted in civilian courts during peacetime.

It is a 'crucially important' issue, Ma said, noting that law revision proposals must be made with due caution and prudence.

As for proposals to abolish the mechanisms of solitary confinement, self-reflection and correction in the military, Ma suggested that the relevant authorities study the practices followed in the United States, Britain, Japan, and Singapore before arriving at a decision, Li said.

Military legal reforms took on new urgency amid widespread public outrage over possible abuse of power and disregard for human rights in the military, which was blamed for the death of 24-year-old Army Corporal Hung Chung-chiu just two days before his discharge.

Hung died after suffering a severe heatstroke while doing a strenuous exercise on his sixth day in a brig, which was part of his punishment for bringing a camera phone onto his base.

The Ministry of National Defense has admitted that the corporal should not have been thrown into the brig for the offense and should not have been forced to drill because he was clearly overweight and because it was against Army regulations to drill under the heat at the time.

(By Kelven Huang and Elizabeth Hsu)
Enditem/SID