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Chapter Law Content

Title: Police Power Exercise Act CH
Category: Ministry of the Interior(內政部)
Chapter 3 Real-time Compulsion
Article 19
The police may restrain a person under the following circumstances:
1. Insanity or inebriation to the extent that it makes restraint necessary in order to avert a situation that may endanger their life or prevent danger to the life or health of another person.
2. Suicide attempts in which a fatality cannot be averted without restraint.
3. Engaged in violent acts or fighting, that will result in injury absent restraint.
4. Other types of rescue that are not possible or other risks that cannot be prevented unless restraint is imposed.
For the restraint described in the preceding paragraph, such restraint shall cease when the danger or harm ends, and the restraint may last at most twenty-four hours; for their protection an immediate notification in an appropriate manner about the release should be made to family or other relevant persons, or to suitable institutions or personnel.
When the police implement a restraint in accordance with the provisions in paragraph 1, they may search the body and the belongings of the person.
Article 20
The police , when necessary, may use police handcuffs or other approved physical restraining devices on people detained or placed under control in accordance with law under any of the following circumstances:
1. They resist detention or restraint measures.
2. They attack the police or other people, destroy the belongings of enforcement officers or other people, or are at risk of committing violence or causing damage.
3. They attempt to commit suicide or hurt themselves, or are likely to commit suicide or hurt themselves.
When police seek to verify a person’s identity or otherwise make inquiries, they may not require people to give statements under the provisions that govern restraint.
Article 21
For the need to prevent danger and harm, the police may seize military weapons, lethal weapons or other dangerous objects.
Article 22
The police shall issue an inventory of objects seized in accordance with law that states the time, place of the seizure, names of the objects seized, other necessary items, and the name of the owner, possessor, or custodian who hands over the objects. When an inventory cannot be issued under the circumstances, a record should be made of the reason and made part of the case file.
Objects that are seized in accordance with law shall be sealed or labeled to ensure proper custody. When the nature of the objects makes them unsuitable to be kept by the police, other authorities or individuals may be commissioned to keep them and the owner, possessor, or custodian of the objects shall be notified. When it is necessary, the other authority or individuals commissioned to keep them may be the party who disposes it.
Unless an object must be forfeited, destroyed, or sold in return for a payment, the objects described in the preceding paragraph shall not be seized for more than thirty days. If the ground for the seizure persists, the duration of seizure may be extended but the extension shall not exceed two months.
Article 23
Seized objects with one of the following conditions may be sold:
1. They are likely to rot or their value is likely to depreciate significantly.
2. They are too expensive or difficult to be kept, cared for, or possessed.
3. They have been seized for over six months, cannot be returned to their original owners, possessor or custodians and the circumstances no longer exist that required it to be placed under custody.
4. The original owners, possessors or custodians do not claim their objects by the given deadline upon the notification that clearly indicates that the objects will be sold if they are not claimed within three months after the notification.
Before the objects set forth in the preceding paragraph are sold, their original owners, possessors or custodians shall be notified of the procedures, time and place of the sale,provided that such shall not apply under emergency circumstances.
The sale of objects shall be done publicly. Objects determined to be difficult to be sold because of their nature or that the cost of the sale will exceed the income from the sale may be disposed of in a non-public manner. The objects set forth in subparagraphs 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 that are not sold within six months shall belong to their respective governments and shall be for public use. The original owners, possessors or custodians of objects under subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 shall be notified how the objects are disposed.
The seized objects that cannot be sold because of decomposition or decay, among other reasons, may be destroyed.
The notification provisions prescribed in paragraph 2 shall apply to the preceding paragraph.
Article 24
When it is no longer necessary to keep the seized objects, they shall be returned to their original owners, possessors, or custodians. When their original owners, possessors, or custodians are unknown, they may be returned to people proven to have the right to the objects.
The cost of seizure and custody fees shall be borne by the original owners, possessors, or custodians. Upon the return of the seized objects, the costs of seizure and custody may be collected.
After the objects are sold, the income shall be given to the people prescribed in paragraph 1 after the costs of seizure, custody, sale, and other necessary expenses are deducted. When the people prescribed in paragraph 1 are unknown and no one applies for transfer of the money after the announcement has been posted for one year, the money shall go to the relevant government level’s treasury.
Article 25
For safety purposes, the police may as a final resort use, dispose, or restrict the use of property, residences, buildings, or personal belongings in cases of natural disasters, accidents, or a situation in which transportation or public safety is endangered.
Article 26
The police may as a final resort enter residences, buildings, or other places in order to protect or rescue people in imminent danger to personal life, physical safety or property loss.
Article 27
To prevent danger or harm, the police may, while exercising their authority, temporarily drive out or restrain a person or a vehicle to eliminate an obstruction.
Article 28
To prevent or eliminate on-going acts or situations that may endanger public safety, public order or personal life, health, freedom, reputation, or property, the police may exercise the power stipulated in this Act or take other necessary measures.
The powers exercised or measures taken by the police in accordance with the provisions prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be limited to the period when other authorities are unable to or cannot stop or remove the danger.