Following a bungled sting operation that resulted in a youngster being sexually abused, two Taiwanese police officers are being looked into. This has caused outrage in the community and a formal apologies from the local police department.
According to a court decision made earlier this month that sparked an investigation into police behaviour, the event started in November 2020 when an anonymous 13-year-old girl met a man, Chang Ming-hsin, via a dating app.
The court found that Chang offered the girl 5,000 New Taiwan dollars (about $160) in exchange for her consent to have sex with him in exchange for nude images. They made plans to meet up at a hotel a few days later, but when the girl failed to show up, Chang threatened to post her pornographic images online.
According to the verdict, she then reported the incident to the Zhongli Precinct of the Taoyuan Police Department in Taoyuan city, which is located not far from Taipei. The decision revealed that the police set up a sting operation in which the girl agreed to meet with Chang under the false pretence of having sex with him.
The girl was with a guardian when she reported the incident, gave a statement to police, and when the operation was conducted, a precinct spokesperson said last week. According to the spokeswoman, the guardian had consented to the sting operation.
Two police officers were on the scene to keep an eye on the meeting when the girl encountered Chang during the operation and requested him to get out of the car. He continually ordered her to get in, however, and took the young woman to a parking place between 200 and 300 metres (656 to 984 feet) away.
The verdict stated that she consented to Chang’s request to engage in oral sex with him out of fear.
Chang then drove the girl back to the restaurant, where he was apprehended by authorities. Chang’s case came to a conclusion on July 13 when the Taoyuan District Court sentenced him to eight years in prison for three counts of sexual offences, including pressuring a kid to commit obscene activities and transactional sex.
However, the police’s participation in the failed sting has drawn more criticism and attention from around the world.
The girl had been told by police not to get into Chang’s car, and when she did, the police officers there tried to chase after the car, but they were “not fast enough” to stop it, according to Focus Taiwan, an offshoot of Taiwan’s official Central News Agency.
Focus Taiwan reports that the girl allegedly did not mention the attack during the subsequent police and prosecutor investigations, only revealing it after Chang’s court case.
However, a representative of the Taoyuan Police Department, which is in charge of the police precinct, issued a video statement on Saturday in which they expressed regret for their carelessness about the girl’s personal safety and the damage they had done to her.
The district prosecutor’s office has been tasked with investigating the two cops who participated in the sting operation for alleged negligence and failing to perform their duties, according to the spokesperson. They have since been reassigned and given demerits in order to only undertake administrative police duties.
According to the spokesperson, two additional police officers who were in charge of the operation also earned demerits due to the harm done to the reputation of the police force.