This Act is enacted to maintain public order and ensure social peace.

An offense against social order is only punishable if expressly provided by the Act during its commission.

If the Act is amended after an offense has been committed, it shall be subject to the amended act. In the event that the original act is more favorable to the offender, whichever is more favorable shall apply.

This Act shall apply to offenses committed within the territory of the Republic of China.
An offense committed on a Republic of China vessel or aircraft outside its territory, shall be considered an offense committed within the territory thereof.

The term “not less than”, ”up to“ or “within” preceding a number in this Act, shall include the given number.

The disperse, inspection, prohibition or dissuasion order prescribed in this Act shall be issued in writing but may be given verbally in case of urgent situations.

An offense against this Act, whether out of intention or negligence shall be punishable. However, detention may not be imposed on a negligent offense and the punishment may be mitigated.

The following people’s behaviors shall not be punishable:
1. A person under the age of 14.
2. A mentally incompetent person.
If a person under the age of 14 commits an offense against this Act, his legal representative or equivalent may be entrusted to enforce discipline. When there is no one available to enforce discipline, they shall be sent to youth or child welfare institutions.
When a mentally incompetent person commits an offense against this Act, their guardians may be entrusted to exercise adequate supervision. If there is no one available to exercise the requested supervision or supervision is impossible, they shall be sent to mental institutions for supervision or therapy.

Punishments for the following people’s behaviors may be mitigated.
1. A person who is over 14 and under 18 years of age.
2. A person who is over 70 years of age.
3. A person who is mentally, speech or hearing impaired.
The persons prescribed in subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph, their legal representatives or other equivalent may be entrusted to enforce discipline after the punishment has been imposed and served.
The persons prescribed in subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1, may be entrusted to their guardians to exercise adequate supervision after the punishment has been imposed and served. If there is no one available to exercise the requested supervision or the supervision is impossible, they shall be sent to mental institutions to be supervised or get therapy.

People under the age of 18, with mental incompetency or impairment, who commits an offense against this Act as a result of lack of discipline or supervision from their legal representatives or guardians, shall be punished in accordance with the preceding two articles. Their legal representatives or guardians are also subject to the same punishment. Nonetheless, their punishments are limited to a fine or a reprimand.

Any behaviors by law shall not be punishable.

Any behaviors, out of defending one’s or the other’s rights against immediate illegal aggression, shall not be punishable.

Any behaviors, out of necessity to avert an imminent danger against oneself or others shall not be punishable.

Any behaviors resulting from force majeure shall not be punishable.

If an offense against this Act is committed jointly by two or more people, each offender shall be punished respectively. A person who uses others to commit an offense, shall be subject to the same penalty as the person used.

People who abet another person to commit an offense in violation of this Act, shall be subject to the same penalty as the person abetted.

The punishments to be imposed on people who assist another person to commit an offense in violation of this Act, may be lessened.

If the representatives, employees or other staff of special businesses whose behaviors concerning their business are in violation of this Act, their punishments may also be imposed on the business owners.
The criteria of special businesses in the preceding paragraph refer to those concerning social order or good custom, shall be established by the Ministry of the Interior.

The responsible persons, the epresentatives, employees or other staff of the company, limited partnership or business--anyone who in the performance of his occupation commits a criminal offense of Offense against Morality, Offenses against Freedom, Offenses against Privacy according to the Criminal Code of the Republic of China, or the Human Trafficking Prevention Act or the Communication Security and Surveillance Act, is liable to imprisonment or a more severe punishment; the company, limited partnership or business may face termination of the business.
In situations of the preceding paragraph, where another law or regulation provides otherwise, such provisions shall govern.

The punishments are as follows:
1. Detention: between one and three days; a maximum of five days in aggravated circumstances.
2. Termination of business.
3. Suspension of business: between one and twenty days.
4. Fine: between NTD 300 and NTD30,000; a maximum of NTD 60,000 in aggravated circumstances.
5. Confiscation.
6. Reprimand: Written or verbal reprimands.
Punishments such as termination of business or suspension of business shall be imposed in conformity with the principle of proportionality.

A fine shall be paid off within ten days starting from the next day the punishment decision is made.
When the punished party is unable to pay off a fine because of unfavorable economic conditions, they may be allowed to pay in installments over a period of three months. However, when the payment is delayed and in default on any one of the installment, the deadline for the installment first defaulted shall be set as the deadline for paying off the unpaid installment.

(Deleted)

The following items shall be confiscated:
1. Items obtained through the commission of an offense against this Act.
2. Banned items.
Items prescribed in the subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph are limited to those belonging to offenders while items prescribed in the subparagraph 2, whether belong to the offender or not, shall be confiscated.
Goods used for commission of an offense shall be confiscated if they belong to the offender. Confiscation, however, shall conform to the principle of proportionality.

Confiscation shall be announced along with other punishments. However, under any one of the following circumstances, confiscation may be announced separately:
1. Other punishments are exempted.
2. The offender has fled.
3. Banned items.

Multiple behaviors against this Act shall be punished respectively. But if those offenses against the provision of the same article prior to the delivery of police notification or on-scene notification, those offenses shall be counted as one and aggravated punishments may be applied.
When one behavior results in two or more offenses, the one with heavier punishment shall be applied. When it results in offenses against the provision of the same article, harsher punishment shall be imposed.

Multiple offenses against this Act shall be adjudicated respectively and punished separately. If multiple punishments have been determined before execution, the execution shall be carried out in accordance with the following rules:
1. When multiple sentences of detention are imposed, they shall be served concurrently, with a total length of not more than five days.
2. When multiple orders of business termination are imposed, only one of the orders shall be executed if those businesses run on the same site; however, if they run on different business sites, the orders shall be executed concurrently.
3. When multiple orders of business suspension are imposed, they shall be executed concurrently. If the suspensions have been imposed on the same business site, the total length shall not exceed twenty days.
4. When termination of business and suspension of business are imposed separately, only termination of business shall be executed if they have been imposed on the same business site. Otherwise, they shall be executed concurrently.
5. When multiple fines are imposed, they should be executed concurrently and the total amount of fines shall not exceed NTD 60,000. If the fines are replaced by detention, the total length of detention shall not exceed five days.
6. When multiple confiscation orders are announced, they should be executed concurrently.
7. When multiple orders of reprimand are announced, they should be executed concurrently.
8. When different types of punishments are imposed, they should be executed concurrently. If termination of business and suspension of business are both imposed, the principle of subparagraph 4 of this Article shall apply.

A repeated offense against this Act within three months after the original punishment has been executed, shall be subject to aggravated punishment.

Any person who violates this Act and turns themselves in before the offense is discovered shall have their penalties reduced or exempted.

All the circumstances shall be taken into account when imposing punishments on offenses against this Act. Notably, the following circumstances shall be the criteria to determine the severity of punishments.
1. The motive and purpose behind the offense.
2. The stimulation which has affected the offender during the commission of an offense.
3. By what means the offense was committed.
4. The offender’s living condition.
5. The disposition of the offender.
6. The intellectual level of the offender.
7. Relationship between the offender and the victim.
8. The extent to which the obligation was violated by the offender.
9. The danger or damage caused by the offense.
10. The offender’s attitude after the offense.

Violation of this Act with extenuating circumstances is entitled to mitigated or exempted punishment.
The mitigating factors prescribed in the preceding paragraph may still apply to an offense where statutory aggravating or mitigating circumstances are involved.

The criteria for aggravating or mitigating punishments under this Act are as follows:
1. A fine or detention may add up to one and a half of the original punishment or reduce to one half of the original punishment.
2. When the length of detention is shorter than a day or the amount of a fine is less than NTD 300 after the punishment has been aggravated or mitigated, the residual length of detention or amount of fine shall be dropped.
3. When detention is reduced to shorter than a day or a fine is reduced to less than NTD 300, the punishment shall be replaced with reprimand or be exempted.

Police authorities shall not interrogate, punish, and refer to the court the person whose offense against this Act has occurred more than two months ago.
The calculation of the period specified in the preceding paragraph shall commence from the day the offense against this Act is committed. For a successive or continuous offense however, it shall commence from the day when the offense ends.

Punishments for offenses against this Act, such as suspension of business, confiscation, or reprimand, shall not be executed over three months since the day when they have been determined. A fine shall not be referred for administrative execution over three months since the day when it has been determined. Other punishments, such as detention and termination of business, shall not be executed over six months since the day when they have been determined.
If a person allowed to pay a fine in installments is late for a payment, the calculation of the three months described in the preceding paragraph commences from the next day when a payment is due.