The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that a legal provision which allows police to forcibly extract urine samples from uncooperative suspects is unconstitutional and must be invalidated within two years.
Article 205-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which a catheter can be used to forcibly gather a urine sample from a suspect when law enforcement personnel have reasonable suspicion that a urine test will provide evidence of a crime, violates the Constitution, according to a press release issued by the Constitutional Court Friday.
The regulation is in conflict with Article 22 of the Constitution which guarantees people’s privacy and the right not to be subject to physical and mental harm, the court said.
New Taipei District Court sought a constitutional judgment on Article 205-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in late 2021 after a man surnamed Chen (陳) appealed against a court ruling that found him guilty of illicit drug use based on a urine test obtained without consent.
Chen was arrested at his home in March 2012 after police received a tip-off from his wife.
The police found drug paraphernalia during a raid of the premises and arrested him as a suspected drug user. Officers demanded Chen undergo a urine test after the suspect claimed the items found did not belong to him.
Chen was then forcibly catheterized at a hospital and a urine sample collected after police consulted with prosecutors. He was sentenced to five months in prison, convertible to a fine, in the first trial, based on the forced test which found the presence of amphetamine in the sample.
The government is required by law to amend articles ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court within two years of its ruling.
Before the article is amended, police are not allowed to force a urine test against the will of a suspect without first obtaining permission from prosecutors unless in an emergency, in which situation police must seek the approval of prosecutors within 24 hours of the test being conducted for the forcibly collected sample to be used as evidence in court, according to the Constitutional Court.
In the event of a forcibly collected urine sample, police are required to destroy the sample and test result within three days if they fail to secure permission from a prosecutor.
Meanwhile, an individual forced to undergo a test can apply for a court order for the sample and test result to be destroyed within 10 days of the test, the release said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel