Public Conduct — Taiwan

Taiwan's Social Order Maintenance Act lets police punish a long list of everyday public misbehaviour with fines or short detention, without a criminal trial. It covers, among other things: being drunk and rowdy, swearing or making a racket in a public place, or making noise late at night, after being told to stop; quarrelling or causing trouble at schools, museums, libraries, exhibitions or sports events after being told to stop; fighting; exposing yourself or behaving lewdly in public after being told to stop; peeping into someone's bedroom, bathroom, toilet or changing room; harassing someone with obscene words or gestures; engaging in paid sex outside any zone a local government has designated, or soliciting for prostitution in public; defacing or putting graffiti on other people's walls, buildings or vehicles; and carrying a dangerous item or lock-opening tools without a good reason.

The Act's penalties are detention of one to three days (up to five in aggravated cases) and fines of NT$300 to NT$30,000 (up to NT$60,000 in aggravated cases), plus confiscation and reprimands (art. 19). Examples: drunk and rowdy behaviour or late-night noise after a warning, up to NT$10,000 (art. 72); fighting, up to NT$18,000 (art. 87); indecent exposure after a warning, peeping or obscene harassment, up to NT$6,000 (art. 83); paid sex outside a designated zone or soliciting in public, up to NT$30,000 (art. 80); carrying a harmful item without justification, up to three days' detention or up to NT$30,000 (art. 63); graffiti on others' property, up to NT$3,000 or a reprimand (art. 90). A fine must be paid within ten days (art. 20).

Verified Sep 22, 2026