To Combat Drug-Driving, Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang Proposes Legal Amendments to Ban Ex-Offenders from Obtaining Licenses

Central News Agency (CNA), Taipei, May 19 (Reporter Huang Li-gei) — To combat drug-driving, Minister of the Interior Liu Shih-fang stated today that inter-ministerial measures, including "penalties for passengers in a vehicle with a drug-driver" and "strengthened driver's license management for drug addicts," are being studied. The goal is to prohibit individuals with a criminal record of drug use or documented cases of drug abuse from obtaining a driver's license, thus preventing them from getting on the road. The Criminal Investigation Bureau of the National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior, held a press conference today titled "Declaring War on Drug-Driving! A Multi-pronged Approach on Offense and Defense to Combat Zombie Drugs at the Source and Block Drug-Driving Through Inter-ministerial Collaboration," hosted by Liu Shih-fang. Attendees included Hu Di-chi, Director-General of the Department of Public Transportation and Motor Vehicles at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications; Chien Mei-hui, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Prosecutorial Affairs at the Ministry of Justice; Chang Yun-chi, Chief Prosecutor at the High Prosecutors Office; Chang Jung-hsing, Director-General of the National Police Agency; and Chiu Shao-chou, Commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. In her address, Liu stated that in addition to robust anti-drug enforcement, the public remains concerned that drug-driving could lead to more broken families. Therefore, saliva-based drug test kits were introduced last year to enhance frontline enforcement capacity against drug-driving. Last year, 12,000 kits were available, and this year, 45,000 will be introduced. Statistics show that from January to April this year, 4,725 cases of drug-driving were uncovered, a 2.7-fold increase in interdiction capacity compared to the same period last year. This demonstrates the police's enhanced ability to crack down on drug-driving and reduce traffic safety risks. Liu mentioned that police are actively tracing and cracking down on etomidate-related drug packaging sites at the source. From January to April this year, 370 such sites were busted nationwide, with a total of 148 kilograms of etomidate-related oils and powders seized, preventing 1.5 million drugged e-cigarette cartridges from entering society and demonstrating a zero-tolerance stance on drugs. Liu stated that in addition to the diligent efforts of frontline officers, the Ministry of the Interior is also collaborating with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Ministry of Justice, and the High Prosecutors Office on multiple prevention policies. The National Police Agency has amended its "Procedures for Investigating Drug-Driving," allowing for the arrest of individuals as (quasi) in-flagrante delicto offenders if they show signs of drug-driving and test positive on a saliva test or refuse testing. Furthermore, the Judicial Yuan has amended the Code of Criminal Procedure to officially include drug-driving as a reason for "preventive detention." The hope is that this dual-pronged enforcement approach will create a strong deterrent effect of "immediate arrest for drug-driving, immediate request for detention upon transfer." Regional prosecutors' offices will also strictly review the criteria for converting sentences of drug-driving defendants to fines, aiming to effectively isolate offenders from continuing to pose a threat. Liu pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior is actively discussing several traffic law measures with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, including "penalties for passengers in a vehicle with a drug-driver" and "strengthened driver's license management for drug addicts." This means that if someone has a prior drug offense or a case of drug use, they would be prohibited from obtaining a driver's license under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act. The relevant amendments will be sent to the Legislative Yuan for review to eliminate the opportunity for drug-drivers to get on the road. When asked by the media after the conference about the progress of the legal amendments, Liu said that the initial discussions with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications had been positive. She also just consulted the Judicial Yuan, which indicated that if there is a criminal record, an in-flagrante delicto offense, or a case of drug use, the Ministry of Transportation could be requested to list it as a criterion for the next license renewal or to restrict the person from obtaining a license, making it highly unlikely for them to drive without one. The Criminal Investigation Bureau stated in a press release that most cases of drug-driving are related to the use of drugged e-cigarettes ("zombie cartridges"). Once a driver uses such products while driving, they can rapidly experience symptoms like "myoclonus" and "loss of consciousness," leading to loss of vehicle control and collisions, severely endangering road safety. Only by strengthening enforcement at the source can drug-driving be prevented. The Ministry of the Interior called on the public, stating that drug-driving is a public enemy. The government will forcefully combat drugs at the front end, followed by a back-end inter-ministerial defense mechanism, to fully convey the government's determination to "declare war on drug-driving" and jointly protect road safety. (Editor: Chang Ya-ching) 1150519