Prosecutors in Kaohsiung has launched a program for first-time drunk drivers that defers their prosecutions but requires them to help out at a local funeral home, hoping that such an experience can keep them from future violations.
According to the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office, 11 drunk driving offenders were sent to a funeral home for two hours of service Thursday under the terms of their deferred prosecution, and were asked to clean the cosmetic and casketing rooms, the autopsy room, and dead body freezers.
It was the first time the office had tried the new strategy.
In the past, people suspected of drunk driving would be sent to attend classes on drunk driving laws, but the Ciaotou office felt that approach did not yield much of a change in behavior, the office said in a statement.
Instead, it decided to show offenders the possible consequences of their behavior, hoping they would gain a new perspective on life and not make the same mistake again, the office said, citing high recidivism rates for drunk driving.
Under harsher penalties introduced in January to curb drunk driving, individuals caught driving under the influence without causing an accident are now subject to a prison sentence of three years, up from two years previously.
In addition, drunk drivers can now also be fined up to NT$300,000 (US$10,485), up from a maximum of NT$200,000 previously in addition to the jail sentence.
Repeat offenders, considered under the new regulations to be anyone caught driving while drunk a second time within a 10-year period, up from a five-year period previously, can have their names and photos made public in addition to the other penalties.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel