Military police accused of illegal search of civilian's home
ROC Central News Agency
2016/03/06 21:03:24
Taipei, March 6 (CNA) The Military Police Command said Sunday that a recent investigation into an illegal online sale of classified government documents was legal, after it was accused of searching the seller's home without a warrant.
The seller's daughter said in an online post a day earlier that their home was searched a fews days ahead of the 228 anniversary because her father possessed some documents related to the White Terror rule of the Kuomintang.
The documents were seized and her father was taken away for questioning, according the post, made under the moniker of 'spicy chao tien pepper.'
The post turned out to be a big story Sunday, becoming headline news in the United Evening News, followed by denouncing of the military by the opposition parties.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), who is also convener of the Legislature's Foreign (Affairs) and National Defense Committee, said an agenda has been set for March 9 in which all people concerned, including leading defense and military police officials, will be required to report to the lawmakers.
The Military Police's top political warfare officer, Hsieh Ming-te (謝明德) said Sunday that the father of the accuser, surnamed Wei, was acting illegally in the first place when he tried to sell classified documents online.
'During our investigation (into the illegal sale), we did not search his home. The Military Police did not pay him any money in exchange for his silence on this matter,' Hsieh said.
The documents in question were in fact related to communist Chinese spies and confessions they made after they surrendered themselves to the government in the 1960s and 1970s, according to Hsieh.
As for the so-called 'hush money,' the Ministry of National Defense explained that it did indeed offer NT$15,000 (US$460) to Wei 'as a reward for his cooperation' in investigating how the documents were leaked. Wei refused to take the money.
The MND defended the Military Police Command's probe as completely legal.
'The Military Police investigators got in contact with Wei, who admitted possessing and selling the leaked documents, and signed his consent to having his home searched. In fact, the MPs just went to his home to ask for the documents,' the process of which was video-taped for proof, said the MND.
It said it has asked the military police command to send all relevant files on the investigation to prosecutors.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) demanded to know on what basis the military were able to ask a private citizen to sign a 'voluntary consent to being searched.'
Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), a DPP caucus whip at the Legislature, ridiculed the MND, asking if 'Taiwan has returned to the days of martial law?'
DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) denounced the Military Police, accusing it of 'abusing its power and infringing on a citizen's human rights.'
He demanded that the MND explain itself and punish those found to be not doing their jobs properly.
Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) of the New Power Party said his caucus has asked senior Military Police officers to explain the matter the following afternoon.
The People First Party's legislative caucus also criticized the Military Police for 'lacking in rule of law education.'
'Even if it is legal to search a private residence in this case, it is not reasonable,' said the PFP caucus in a press release.
'We must not allow any poisonous traces from authoritarian rule to remain in our democratic society,' said Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞), the PFP caucus whip.
Lawyer Tseng Yi-sheng (曾益盛) frowned at the military investigators' launching of a probe without consent of prosecutors in the first place.
'I cannot comprehend why the Military Police did not request prosecution leadership in probing the case. They were simply too careless,' Tseng said.
(By Chen Yi-wei, Sophia Yeh, Wen Kui-hsiang, Hsieh Chia-chen and S.C. Chang)
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