News
Cabinet inaugurates Anti-Fraud Office
Premier Chen Chien-jen has inaugurated the cabinet's new Anti-Fraud Office.
The office is expected to coordinate efforts to combat a variety of scams and will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring government agency efforts to fight fraud.
The premier says he hopes local governments and private businesses will work closely with the central government to better prevent fraud cases and crack down on such crimes. Chen added that because techniques used by fraudsters keep evolving, the office would also be tasked with researching policies adopted by other countries, so it might roll out new anti-fraud measures.
The office was established two weeks after the cabinet released an updated action plan aimed at expanding efforts to combat mail, telecom, and internet fraud. The Anti-Fraud Office is being headed by former Taoyuan Deputy Mayor Lee Hsien-ming.
In unrelated legal news, lawmakers have also passed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure aimed at addressing a backlog of legal cases.
Individuals found guilty of causing minor injury to others, along with two types of drug-related offenses will now no longer be entitled to appeal their case to the Supreme Court after a second trial.
The amendment states that an assault that inflicts bodily harm to another under the first Paragraph of Article 277 of the Criminal Code will not be appealable to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the taking of Schedule I drugs, or possessing more than 20 grams of a drug in the Schedule II category, will also be unappealable after a second instance judgement is issued.
The amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure mean that the types of criminal cases which will not be heard in the Supreme Court will be increased to 10 from the current seven. The revisions are expected to decrease the number of criminal matters appealed to the Supreme Court to between 500 to 600 every year.
