The parolee was one of 25,670 to be released from prisons nationwide under a commutation statute that went into effect July 16.
The Legislative Yuan passed the commutation statute June 15, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the end of martial law in Taiwan, which lasted from 1949 to 1987.
This marked the fifth time that the central government granted sentence commutation. The four previous occasions took place in 1971, 1975, 1988 and 1991. The 1971 and 1991 acts celebrated the founding anniversary of the Republic of China in 1912, and the 1975 and 1988 acts commemorated two late presidents, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, CNA stated July 15.
According to the commutation statute, death sentences would be commuted to life sentences, life sentences would be reduced to 20 years and other prison terms would be halved, except for those convicted of crimes listed in Article 3 of the statute.
Among the over 10,000 eligible for release on the first day of commutation, those who were convicted for drug offenses, theft and fraud were the three largest groups of inmates, numbering around 4,800, 1,900 and 690, according to figures from the Ministry of Justice, the report stated.
The government mobilized the nation's after-care system and coordinated local departments of health, halfway homes and employment centers, Vice Minister of Justice Lee Chin-yung said in a press conference July 15, according to a CNA report. He added that this was to ensure that each pardoned inmate received care and could arrive safely at their chosen destinations.
Recidivism tended to be serious among those convicted for drug abuse and trafficking, theft, fraud and violence, MOJ Minister Shih Mao-lin said in the CNA report. The MOJ had set up a cooperation program with police, local narcotics control centers and social welfare departments to prevent recidivism in these groups of inmates.
The nationwide rate of recidivism among pardoned inmates tended to be lower than among those who had served out their terms or were paroled in individual cases, Shih pointed out. Recidivism rates were 20.9 percent and 18.2 percent among those who were released under the 1988 and 1991 commutations, while the 10-year average was 46.9 percent for those released after completing prison terms, he said.
Since HIV/AIDS was more common among drug users, the Center for Disease Control under the Department of Health had been working with the MOJ to organize informational seminars for inmates on how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS and about assistance services that they could take advantage of after they were released, according to a July 10 DOH statement.
There were an estimated 600 inmates with HIV/AIDS who would be released on the first day of commutation, the DOH said, citing MOJ statistics. With this knowledge in mind, the CDC took action by gearing up to prevent spread of the disease by targeting all pardoned inmates.
The DOH stated that it would provide information packages to pardoned prisoners. Materials included information about the "harm reduction program" that several local governments currently had in place to help drug users overcome their habits and to stop the practice of sharing needles, the number-one cause of contracting HIV/AIDS in Taiwan.
The care package that was distributed to pardoned prisoners also contained a letter of goodwill from DOH Minister Hou Sheng-mou, condoms, hygiene items and names of clinics that offer anonymous HIV/AIDS testing. Intensive follow-up programs would also target HIV-positive parolees, according to the statement.
Write to June Tsai at june@mail.gio.gov.tw