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By Huang Chin-hsuan and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Ministry of National Defense is seeking harsher penalties for those who dodge the draft amid concerns over lenient sentences by proposing amendments to raise the minimum prison term for draft evasion to one year.
Changes would be made to the Act on Punishment for Violation of the Military Service System (妨害兵役治罪條例) in response to courts repeatedly sentencing draft dodgers to prison terms of less than six months, an advance notice published by the ministry on June 11 said.
The punishments the justice system has handed down to men who evade mandatory military service — which are typically commuted to a fine — has created the impression that men can pay their way out of doing their duty, the ministry said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The lack of consequences for people who dodge the draft because they have the financial means to pay for the fine has severely compromised the fairness of conscription, harmed national security and damaged the public’s trust in the government, it added.
The changes seek to address this problem by mandating a minimum prison sentence that cannot be commuted to a fine, it said.
The proposed changes would apply to people who evade their duty to serve as servicemembers, noncommissioned officers and officers in the military and armed forces reserve, the ministry said.
They would also apply to reservists who refuse mobilization or recall orders, and draftees who did not report after being selected to serve in the armed forces, it added.
Jail time for those who evade the draft by delaying service until they turn 36, the maximum age for military service, would increase by two-thirds, it said.
It is seeking tougher penalties because continued draft evasion is reprehensible, the ministry said, adding that it would also improve the military’s ability to deter draft dodging.
Conspiring or helping another person to dodge the draft would also be a crime punishable by no less than one year in prison, it said.
The penalty would apply to men who substitute for another person during a military physical exam, or those who help secure such an arrangement for someone, it added.
