Underworld figure arrested after blatant insult to police angers Taiwan’s top cop
Police in Hsinchu County have arrested a man in connection to a case considered to be a blatant insult and provocation to Taiwan’s police force earlier this week.
On Wednesday, September 15, a procession of local temple association groups banging drums and performing a lion dance proceeded to a police station in Zhudong Township, where they performed a noisy celebratory spectacle that included setting off fireworks in “congratulations” of the local police director’s “promotion.”
However, the police branch director and his colleagues all the way to the nation’s top cop were neither appreciative, nor amused by the show.
Rather than accepting the performance as a show of affection for the police director, who has a reputation for having an iron fist when it comes to organized crime and other law and order issues, police considered the show to be a thinly-veiled celebration of the Director’s transfer away from the township.
On Monday, September 13, the National Police Agency of the Ministry of the Interior issued an order for the deployment of police forces which included the transfer of 87 high-ranking police officers around the country.
Among the transfers, Hsinchu County, Zhudong Branch Director, Jiang Jianzhong, was shifted to Sanxing Township in Yilan County. Such a move would not normally be considered a promotion.
After word spread through the township that the tough and uncompromising 51-year-old police branch director was being replaced, local groups organized a “centipede array,” Buddha car, two white lion dancers, drummers, and fireworks for a sendoff outside the police station Wednesday afternoon.
And this is not the first time Jiang Jianzhong has received such special treatment. A similar situation occurred when he was transferred from Chiayi County’s Zhuqi Police Substation to Hsinchu in May 2019.
In a press briefing after the handover ceremony on the 16th, Jiang Jianzhong said that his strict enforcement of the law, and clear black and white attitude has irritated gang members. Jiang said he is open and fearless about this kind of thing, and that he is even more certain that this is the right thing and will face it courageously. He believes even more that the mission of the police will never be changed or swayed because of this act.
Director-general of the National Police Agency, Chen Jia-chin, also condemned the action of the local gangs, and said that he would never allow any provocative behavior from the underworld. Chen ordered the case to be “strictly handled to the end,” and promised, Thursday, that not only those who carried out the activity will be arrested, but also those behind the scenes.
The Hsinchu District Prosecutor’s Office agreed that the kind of behavior displayed by the gangs on Wednesday cannot be tolerated. If it is not strictly investigated and quickly handled, it may cause imitation in the future, a DPO spokesperson said.
On the orders of the Hsinchu District Prosecutor’s Office police arrested a man named Zhu, believed to be the man behind the curtain in Wednesday’s performance. Eight other men were summoned for questioning in the case yesterday, Saturday, September 18.
The Hsinchu District Prosecutor’s Office charged Zhu with insulting the office of the commissioner. Although the charge only carries a sentence of less than six months imprisonment, the DPO applied to the court for a detention order. Detention orders are usually only applied for when the sentence carries a maximum of 7 or more years.
However, the prosecutor attended the detention hearing and argued that the behavior displayed in the case is equivalent to ignoring public power and blatant provocation. If it is not strictly investigated and quickly dealt with, it may cause imitation in the future.
Although the crime of insulting the Commissioner’s Office is a misdemeanor of less than 6 months, when the prosecutor interrogated Zhu Nan, he believed that he was in danger of fleeing, colluding, or interfering with evidence, and that there was a reason and necessity for detention.
Therefore, in accordance with Article 114 of the Criminal Procedure Law, “The Defendant” Repeated offenders, criminal habit, or risk of running away and colluding with evidence”, petitioned the court for Zhu’s detention, while the police investigate other suspected instigators behind the scenes.
The judge agreed with the prosecutor’s reasoning and granted the detention order.
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