The Justice Ministry is seeking to eliminate the lower age limit for detention at reformatories and to define police rights to investigate criminal cases involving children under 14, government sources said Tuesday.
The ministry's pursuit of legal revisions in the field of juvenile crime comes amid mounting public concern over an increase in serious offenses committed by juveniles aged 13 or younger. The latter cannot be punished under the Penal Code and are exempt from conventional police investigations.
Under the current Juvenile Training School Law, only juveniles aged 14 or older can be placed in reformatories.