Liao Kuo-hao, who is serving 30 years for a killing committed as a teenager, sued Changhua Prison over its refusal to let him sit the technical-college entrance exam. The Taichung High Administrative Court dismissed the suit; the ruling can be appealed.
According to the United Daily News, Liao was 17 when he committed the offense in 2010 and was sentenced to 30 years, serving since December 2011. To sit the 2025 academic-year Joint Technical College Entrance Exam, he applied on December 26, 2024 for an escorted leave to take the test. The prison refused, saying he still had more than 15 years left on his sentence and that his return to society was not urgent.
광고 문의 · 300×250Liao said he wants to work in information engineering after release, and that his applications in 2023 and 2024 were also refused. He argued that people have a right to sit exams for professional and technical qualifications, citing Judicial Yuan Interpretations Nos. 682 and 626, and said similar applications had been approved at Chiayi Prison and for other inmates, amounting to unequal treatment. He also claimed that, after the Agency of Corrections turned him down, the prison revised his individual treatment plan to delete content related to college entry.
The prison: no prior application, and the sentence is too long for any benefit
Changhua Prison responded that it had selected Liao for the exam in 2022 and 2023, but the Agency of Corrections refused, citing more than 18 years left and no urgency to return to society. Because the remaining term was so long, it later judged that sitting the exam would be of no benefit to his sentence and stopped nominating him. It also said he registered for the exam without applying in advance as required, and that other approved inmates were in different circumstances, so there was no discrimination.
The court first noted that his application did not state the time of the leave, a contact person or the link to his treatment plan. It also pointed out that registration for the 2025 exam closed on December 18, 2024, while Liao applied on December 26, eight days late.
The court acknowledged his efforts: he completed high school during his sentence, earned a bachelor's degree from the Open University and kept studying. But given the gravity of the crime and the length of the sentence, it said the prison's finding that his return to society was not urgent could hardly be seen as exceeding or abusing its discretion, and dismissed the suit.
The case highlights the tension between an inmate's right to education and the discretion of correctional authorities. The United Daily News also quoted scholars who said prisons face a dilemma because they must weigh public perception. The ruling is not final, so attention turns to whether he appeals.
