Footage of a Taiwanese official attending her father’s funeral while handcuffed has sparked public reactions in Taiwan.
Chiayi City Councilor Tai Ning (戴寧), who is suspected of embezzlement more than 5 million New Taiwan dollars (about $174,500) in compensation intended for city employees, accused of including family members as staff and pocket their wages since 2012.
Ning has been in police custody since mid-March. She applied for bail after her father, former Chiayi city councilor, Tai Chien-shan (戴建三), passed away on March 20.
The official wanted to attend her father’s funeral because she had not seen her father before he died. When her request was rejected by the Chiayi Court, Ning then requested to attend the funeral in accordance with Article 23 of the Detention Act at the Chiayi Detention Center.
She was allowed to attend the funeral on Wednesday, but was kept in handcuffs and legcuffs during her brief visit to the memorial hall.
Pictures of Ning kneeling in front of her father’s coffin, while restrained, quickly surfaced in media reports, immediately sparking public outcry. Taiwanese internet users have accused local authorities of being inhumane to the grieving official.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) called on the Bureau of Corrections to sternly detain a detainee who had not yet been convicted of a crime. The veteran lawmaker noted that the decision to do so violates Taiwanese customs and exposes the bureaucracy within the agency.
The Chiayi Detention Center has responded to the resistance by saying that legally requiring the councilor to wear handcuffs and leg cuffs at the funeral was legal. However, it noted that in the future, depending on individual cases, a different approach may be considered.
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