49.
For a juvenile who is under detention and prohibited from visitation and
communication, the Court should, depending on the case and in accordance with
the Code of Criminal Procedure, decide on the extent of visitation from their
family members and teachers, and not deny it completely. After all, severing
family support to the juvenile could severely impair the juvenile’s physical and
mental well-being, and is contrary to the intent of juvenile law to protect the
young. From 2012 to 2017, there have been 11 cases in which 21 juveniles were
sentenced by the court to be put under detention and also denied visitation and
communication. Those juveniles were confined to small cells by themselves,
denied visitation and communication from their family members, relatives,
friends and teachers, and prohibited from watching TV or listening to the radio.
They were also allowed outdoors every day for only 30 minutes. Clearly, these
juveniles lacked social interaction and the necessary education and counseling.
This disregards the basic intent of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child. After investigation and continuing attention by the Control Yuan,
the Agency of Corrections has, since 2019, set up a “visitation via mobile device”
system in their Smart Prison Plan, under which family members may now
teleconference with the juveniles via mobile phones.
Avoidance of Solitary Confinement and Related Inhumane Conditions
50.
Based on Article 22 of the Prison Act before amendments, the Agency of
Corrections, in a decree dated November 11, 2016, allowed juvenile detention
houses to discipline a juvenile for “disturbing orderly conduct” by locking the
juvenile in a “quiet room” for no more than 7 days at a time. This appears to
violate Article 5 of the Detention Act before amendments and Article 36 of the
Statute on the Establishment of Juvenile Detention Houses. The Agency even
allowed the use of shackles, which not only inflicts severe physical and mental
harm, but also seriously infringes upon the basic human rights of children and
juveniles. The amendments to the Detention Act on January 15, 2020,
expressly provides that any detention of a defendant in a ”quiet room” should
be reported to a court for approval, and the detention should not persist for
more than 24 hours. Notwithstanding, such human rights centered practices
were not extended to juveniles detained in juvenile detention houses. The
Agency of Corrections has already begun preparing a draft of the
Implementation Regulations Governing Detention Treatment in Juvenile
Detention Houses and promised to suspend said decree dated November 11,
2016 within the transition period prior to enforcement of the Draft. However,
no physical action has been taken by the Agency so far.
The Need for Separate Confinement of Juveniles and Adults
51.
While trying to deal with the problem of inmate overcrowding and the shortage
of manpower, the Ministry of Justice ignored the organizational and resource
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