Status of the Tasks of the Prosecutors Office

1. To eradicate graft and corruption

A task force shall be formed according to the mandates of the Implementation Points for the Prosecutors Office Carrying out Eradication of Graft and Corruption. The chief prosecutor will serve as the convener. Members will include the head prosecutor, prosecutors, the director of the Fuchien Investigation Office, office director, head of the anti-corruption squad, and the director of the Kinmen Civil Service Ethics Office. The group will meet regularly every quarter. Anti-corruption otline, fax, postal mail and e-mail systems will be set up to encourage people to report corruption.

2. To prevent smuggling and drug trafficking

The office has set up an anti-smuggling, anti-drug trafficking squads since August 1993, bringing together the area s prosecution, police, investigation, coast guard, shore patrol, and enforcement agencies to work and prevent smuggling and drug trafficking. Besides, since January 1st, 2001, the government implemented a mini-three-links of direct transportation, postal services, and trade between China and the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu. Since this has become more and more regular, it has become more imperative to prohibit Mainland Chinese fishermen from entering our territorial waters to do electric or toxic fishing and other illegal activities. Strict measures are implemented to prevent the country's criminals from escaping out of the country and for Mainland Chinese to enter the country illegally. The office looks into illegal smuggling of drugs, guns and ammunition and prevents the entry of plants and animals which have not gone through quarantine procedures. These are the major tasks of this office.

3. To promote eradication of crime and violence

As per instructions from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court, the chief prosecutor of this office shall, together with the Chief of Kinmen County Police Bureau, Captain of Crime Investigation Corps, and the Head of the Department of Investigation in Fukien, form the crime implementation task force. This group shall meet regularly, establishing a consensus on how to fight crime. The Kinmen area does not have any criminal organization, but because of its unique geographical location, only a body of water separates it from Mainland China. Due to this proximity, the main issue confronting this office as well as the police and investigating bodies is how to prevent gangs and criminal elements from escaping to Mainland China through Kinmen or vice-versa.

4. To investigate cases of graft and corruption; promote anti-bribery

To focus on the elections of government officials, the office has established an (election bribery investigation task force) and an election investigation liaison center according to the ( Major Implementation Points for the Prosecutors Office in Carrying out Electoral Investigation. ) It also has a hotline (082-325090), a mailbox (P.O. Box 30) and an e-mail address (tp14@mail.moj.gov.tw) to encourage people to inform the office about instances of bribery. During elections, the investigating prosecutor shall lead police and investigation personnel in gathering evidence and work on bribery, in receiving complaints and confessions from the public. In addition, the office shall invite prosecution, police, investigation, and other judicial bodies, as well as county commission of elections, private civic groups, and judicial volunteer to come together and hold anti-bribery activities. The office will also mobilize its personnel to hang anti-bribery slogans at designated areas, distribute antibribery leaflets, and integrate the resources of the community and the media to promote the evils of election bribery and the benefits of bribery information cash reward. All of these measures are geared towards fostering a consensus among the people to inform on bribery cases and to fight election bribery and corruption towards fostering cleaner elections.

5. To prevent sexual trades of children and adolescents

According ­to the mandate ­­of the Major Implementation Points for Task Force Formation by the Prosecutors to Prevent Sexual Trades of Children and Adolescent enacted on January 21, 2006 by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, the chief prosecutor shall invite the head prosecutor, the prosecutors, the head of the crime squad of the Kinmen police, the Kinmen social welfare bureau, bureau of education, bureau of health, and social workers to form the Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Trade of Children and Adolescents. This group will work aggressively to fight and prevent incidents of sexual trading of children and adolescents. This type of crime has never been committed within the office s area of jurisdiction. The results of preventive actions have been very good so far.

6. To supervise mediation at town and township levels and to transmute mediation cases

The decision reached in mediation cases approved by the court is the same as an official verdict, which means that the party may not indict again, sue, or undertake private prosecution. This is why mediation is an effective and powerful tool for reducing sources of litigation, eliminating disputes, and promoting harmony in the society. Consequently, aside from annual extensive promotion to encourage the public to make good use of the mediation channel, when the prosecution is working on a slight misdemeanor case or a case of false wealth, it tries its best to urge the parties involved to reach an agreement. With the aggrieved party s consent, the case is turned over to the mediation committee that has jurisdiction over that area, where mediation proceeds. This reduces the source of litigation and lightens the workload of the prosecutor. Furthermore, to allow the mediation committee to maximize its functions, the office has teamed up with the Kinmen County Government to hold lectures on mediation to enhance professional knowledge as well as skills and techniques of committee members. In addition, the office shall also assign prosecutors or the prosecutor investigator shall be in attendance as much as possible when the mediation committees of the towns and townships hold meetings to mediate actual cases to provide legal counsel. This way, the mediation function can be maximized, thereby reducing the sources of litigation.

7. To supervise jails and detention centers

Every month, the office shall conduct ocular inspections of jails and detention centers in Kinmen to inspect their safety measures and the situation of the inmates. It will also accept complaints filed by the inmates and the detainees and will deal with them accordingly to protect human rights and promote improvement of prison administration.

8. To carry out the functions of probation and put into full practice the protection of both the suspect and the victim

‧The work of probation is an important part of criminal policies. It primarily focuses on implementing a form of social punishment on the person on probation. Professional probation officers and probation volunteers work together to guide and rehabilitate these people.Based on actual needs, they would also map out individual programs guiding them through education, medical, and care issues. By doing these professional guidance, we hope that persons under probation can adapt faster to social life. Its main goal is to prevent crime from being committed again. Furthermore, crime prevention dissemination activities are held regularly to call upon the public to care for those who have gone astray to give them another chance to do good and cease to be a threat to society.

‧To protect the families of crime victims from being harmed, to protect human rights, and to promote social safety, the government specifically enacted the Victims Protection Act in 1998. Based on related laws, this office has established a Fuchien Kinmen District Prosecutors Office Compensation Review Board for Crime Victims, which is responsible for reviewing the application for compensation by the family members of crime victims. When crimes occur, aside from assigning an officer to go with the victim protection volunteer to comfort the family, if necessary, the office is also tasked with providing medical, judicial, civil, compensatory, life rebuilding, and security protection assistance to help the victims and their families walk out from the darkness to begin a new life.