Taiwan removes Taipei military police commander accused of hiding troop injuries

Taiwan's Military Police Command has removed the commanding officer of the Taipei Military Police Unit from his post while it investigates complaints that he abused his troops and that the unit hid serious injuries and self-harm scares from higher command. The command confirmed the move on 23 October, saying an internal inquiry had already found clear problems with leadership and internal management in the unit.

The unit, led by a colonel, guards the Bo'ai Special Zone in central Taipei, the district that holds the Presidential Office and other core government buildings. Its role makes it one of the most politically sensitive commands in Taiwan's armed forces.

The case came to light after a group of officers and enlisted personnel petitioned both the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense. According to the China Times, which first reported the complaints, they accused the commander of regularly berating senior staff and ordinary soldiers with insults and profanity at formations and in public, to the point that many troops avoided him and some began thinking about leaving the military.

The petition also listed several incidents that were allegedly never reported up the chain of command. The Liberty Times and the China Times said a staff sergeant who was scolded over paperwork in October last year became distressed, went missing and came close to harming himself before the whole unit was mobilised to find him. During this year's Han Kuang exercise in August, a private first class who had been rebuked for a duty error disappeared the next morning and was later found on a rooftop, where he had stood in the rain for about two hours, the China Times reported.

Two injuries were also allegedly kept quiet. In May, a corporal broke an ankle in a fall during unit testing at a base. Although an ambulance was on site, the China Times said leaders told others to keep the matter from superiors, and the soldier was taken to a civilian hospital nearly an hour later in a minibus rather than to a military hospital. In early October, a staff sergeant who had been reprimanded smashed a glass pane and badly hurt his arm. The reports said an ambulance that was called was sent away and the soldier was driven to hospital in a private car.

The China Times reported that the command moved only after the complaints reached the Presidential Office, sending its chief of staff and other senior officers to the unit to investigate.

In its statement, the Military Police Command said it set up a special task force as soon as it received the petitions and opened an administrative investigation into the alleged violations and the responsibility of the personnel involved. It said the commander was moved out of the post so the inquiry could stay fair and objective, and that the task force would keep working through the evidence item by item.

The command said the armed forces will not tolerate mistreatment, concealment of incidents or abuse of power in any form, and that medical help and psychological counselling have been arranged for the affected personnel. It added that if wrongdoing is confirmed, those responsible will face administrative, criminal and disciplinary action, and that it will not shield anyone.

The China Times framed the case as a sign that some senior officers have not taken on board Defence Minister Wellington Koo's drive to make unit management more normal and accountable. The allegations of unreported injuries in a unit that protects the seat of government go to the heart of that effort, because accurate reporting of safety incidents is how commanders above the unit judge its readiness and the welfare of its troops.