Withdrawing a Taiwan criminal complaint before receiving the agreed money can leave the withdrawal in place even if payment never follows. Article 238 of the Code of Criminal Procedure bars the person who withdrew from making that complaint again. Nonpayment does not undo withdrawal.
What the agreement actually says
A short Chinese settlement document given to an American visitor preparing to leave Taiwan may promise future payment and, in the same document, express withdrawal of the criminal complaint through the phrase 撤回告訴 without making that withdrawal wait until the money arrives. Look at the payment date and withdrawal clause together.
The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office warns about withdrawing before settlement terms are performed, including signing a settlement containing withdrawal language. A later failure to pay does not by itself restore the complaint. Possible civil enforcement depends on the agreement and the available enforcement route. Keep the signed document and the payment records.
Which criminal cases depend on a complaint?
Will a settlement end the criminal case? Taiwan distinguishes offenses requiring a complaint, called 告訴乃論之罪, from those that can be prosecuted without one. For the former, Article 238 permits withdrawal before argument closes in the first-instance trial. That cutoff can arrive before the judgment.
Withdrawal cannot itself end a non-complaint-dependent prosecution. The High Prosecutors Office’s explanation of criminal complaints states the distinction. A payment agreement should therefore not promise that the prosecutor must close every possible criminal charge.
Who knew the offender, and when? Under Article 237, a complaint for an offense requiring one must be made within six months after the person entitled to complain learns who the offender is. This is not a universal six-month limit for all crimes. Neither the incident date nor the date you leave Taiwan can simply be substituted for the statutory starting point.
If you previously reported the incident, check how your wish to pursue the offender was recorded. Article 242 allows a complaint in writing or orally to a prosecutor or judicial police officer, with a record made of an oral complaint. Having reported an event is a reason to inspect the record, not to assume every necessary statement appears in it.
One settlement can affect other participants
What if there are accomplices? Under Article 239, for an offense requiring a complaint, a complaint against or withdrawal concerning one accomplice also has effect for the other accomplices. Settling with only one person can therefore affect more than that person.
A valid withdrawal in a complaint-dependent case leads to the procedural grounds in Article 252(5) during investigation or Article 303(3) at trial. The former provides for non-prosecution; the latter for a judgment declining to entertain the prosecution. Payment alone does not establish those conditions.
Before signing, compare the settlement amount, installment dates, scope of released civil claims and the point at which withdrawal is expressed. If withdrawal has already occurred and money remains unpaid, the signed agreement and proof of missed payments are the documents to preserve.
Official sources
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 237
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 238
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 239
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 242
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 252
- Taiwan Code of Criminal Procedure 303
- Taiwan High Prosecutors Office: exercise of a victim’s complaint rights
- Taiwan High Prosecutors Office: criminal complaints and withdrawal
Checked: October 7, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does paying a settlement automatically end a Taiwan criminal case?
- No. The effect depends on whether the offense requires a complaint, whether a valid withdrawal has been made and whether the deadline has passed. A victim’s wish to withdraw does not itself end proceedings for an offense that does not require a complaint.
- Can I revive the complaint if the promised payment never comes?
- Article 238 prevents the person who withdrew from making the same complaint again. Civil remedies under the settlement need separate assessment; nonpayment alone does not restore the withdrawn complaint.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice on any individual matter.
