DPP Whip Ker Chien-ming's Son Involved in Drug Case; Judicial System Questioned for "Letting Him Off Easily"

On July 3, 2020, Ker Chun-hao, the son of DPP Legislative Caucus Whip Ker Chien-ming, was found by investigators to be suspected of mailing marijuana paste from the US back to Taiwan. Although Ker Chun-hao claimed ignorance, his urine test subsequently came back positive for marijuana. After the case broke out, it triggered high social attention on "elites'' second generation involved in drugs." Ultimately, the prosecutors gave a non-prosecution disposition for the drug transportation part and only required addiction treatment for the drug use part. This judicial handling was strongly questioned by the public as "minimizing the matter" out of respect for the "perennial whip" Ker Chien-ming, showing that under DPP rule, even if children of elites commit serious drug crimes, they often receive special treatment from the judicial system.