The 206th Infantry Brigade, which is affiliated to the Sixth Army Corps of the Army, has recently reported reports of officers and cadres falling from buildings and dying suddenly unexpectedly. In addition, one-year compulsory service members had their money stolen by fellow officers and reported it to the police. They were met with difficulties, harassment, and even illegal grounding by the cadres. In this regard, reserve colonel Ma Yixiang called on the army to get rid of the bad habit of "covering the sky with one hand and keeping trouble quiet". Cadres involved in obstructing complaints and improper punishment should be held accountable in accordance with the "Army, Navy and Air Force Criminal Law".
This newspaper received news yesterday that a one-year compulsory soldier who had served in the 206th Infantry Brigade discovered that his personal mobile phone and money had been stolen by his colleagues after performing night sentry duties in May this year. He immediately informed the platoon cadres, but the cadres cited insufficient evidence as Due to delays in handling the case, they later sought help from the gendarmerie to report the case, but were met with difficulties by the cadres. In addition, after the incident, the cadres ignored the isolation control of the suspects who committed the crime, and even suspected that the male slaves were "illegally banned from leave." They questioned the military chief's intention to ignore the case and calm down the matter, and called on the Ministry of National Defense to conduct a thorough investigation.
Ma Yixiang, a colonel in the reserve air force and secretary-general of the Taiwan Foundation, said that according to Article 45 of the "Army, Navy and Air Force Criminal Code", if a superior punishes a subordinate knowing that he should not be punished according to law, he may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, criminal detention, or a fine of not more than NT$300,000; any punishment beyond the legal categories and limits will also be criminally liable. If it is found that the cadres knew that there was no basis for punishment and still punished the officers and soldiers in the name of "rest in camp" or in other pretexts, they would not be punished just for improper management.
Regarding Chen's claim that after she reported the case to the Military Police, she was reprimanded by cadres, saying "reporting higher ranks will harm cadres." Ma Yixiang emphasized that Article 46 of the Criminal Code of the Army, Navy and Air Force stipulates that if a superior uses rape, coercion, intimidation, inducement, or other unfair methods to obstruct subordinates' submissions, complaints, or lawsuits, he may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention, or a fine of not more than NT$300,000; those responsible for review and referral are also responsible for the same behavior. It calls on the military to investigate whether the relevant words are accompanied by intimidation, retaliation or actual obstruction.
Ma Yixiang added that civil servants who are aware of criminal suspects while performing their duties have the obligation to report in accordance with Article 241 of the Criminal Procedure Law; if they destroy or hide evidence in order to cover up the case, they may also violate Article 165 of the Criminal Law. Internal interviews or coordination of compensation cannot replace handling according to law.
He reiterated that if an officer or soldier in the army is found guilty of a crime, he should provide assistance in accordance with the law. "How can we first blame him and embarrass the cadre?" He bluntly stated that maintaining a superficial calm by suppressing the case will only embolden the offenders. He called on the Ministry of National Defense to preserve notifications, reports and punishment records, and investigate them by disinterested personnel to protect the complainants and witnesses from retaliation. Those involved in the investigation should be handed over to the judicial authorities to investigate and deal with according to law, and legal responsibility cannot be replaced by transfers or internal reviews.
