A short Taiwan prison sentence: payment, service or suspension

The words 如易科罰金 in a Taiwan judgment identify possible conversion of a custodial sentence to a monetary payment. They do not by themselves complete that process. The execution prosecutor still decides the application, as the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office explains.

A foreign resident should keep both the judgment and the later execution summons. One records what the court ordered; the other identifies the office and attendance date for carrying it out. A criminal fine, conversion of imprisonment and a suspended sentence follow different rules.

When conversion is available

For a single sentence, Criminal Code Article 41 generally permits fine conversion where the offense’s statutory maximum is no more than five years and the actual sentence is no more than six months’ imprisonment or is short-term detention. The prescribed daily rate is NT$1,000, NT$2,000 or NT$3,000. Conversion may be refused where it would fail to achieve correction or maintain the legal order.

Two limits matter. The offense’s statutory maximum and the sentence actually imposed are separate tests. Multiple offenses and a combined sentence require the additional rules in Article 41; a total longer than six months should not be assessed by the single-sentence rule alone.

Which figure do you pay? Use the rate in the judgment and have the execution office confirm the number of days and credit for any prior detention. Do not assume every calendar month contains thirty days or send an estimated amount to an unofficial recipient.

The execution office handles the application

Code of Criminal Procedure Article 457 generally places direction of execution with the prosecutor, subject to its exceptions. Follow the summons and use the named office’s application process.

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office’s published procedure describes applying, review, issuance of a payment notice, payment and return of the receipt to the handling section. It also provides for a qualifying relative to apply with proof when a legitimate reason, such as being abroad or serious illness, prevents personal attendance. Confirm the arrangements with the office handling your case before relying on representation.

If paying in full is difficult, submit evidence of your finances and ask about installments. Permission is required. The same official guidance warns that missed installments can lead to revocation of that permission. Retain the approval and every payment receipt.

For an allegedly improper execution direction, Article 484 provides a court-objection route. The convicted person, their legal representative or spouse may apply to the court that pronounced the judgment. This concerns execution; it does not reopen an expired ordinary appeal against the conviction.

Community service has an assigned schedule

Article 41 also permits community service for defined short sentences, including some that cannot be converted to a fine, at six hours for each custodial day. Health-related inability and the statutory correction or legal-order grounds can preclude it. For a single sentence under these provisions, performance must finish within one year.

Follow the approved schedule. Choosing a volunteer position independently, doing paid work or promising to complete service after returning to the United States does not establish compliance. Ask where attendance is recorded and whom to notify about a genuine inability to attend. Serious unjustified nonperformance or failure to finish within the permitted period has statutory execution consequences under Article 41.

Suspension is ordered by the court

A suspended sentence, 緩刑, pauses execution on a different legal basis. Article 74 allows a suspension period of two to five years, beginning when the judgment becomes final, for a sentence of up to two years’ imprisonment, short-term detention or a fine, if its prior-record conditions are met and the court considers suspension appropriate.

Those conditions cover a person never sentenced to imprisonment or a more severe punishment for an intentional crime, or a person meeting the provision’s five-year condition after execution or pardon of a prior intentional-crime sentence. Eligibility leaves a judicial decision. Suspension may also carry compensation, payment, service, treatment or protective duties written in the judgment.

Failure has consequences. Serious violation of an imposed duty can support discretionary revocation under Article 75-1 when the expected effect of suspension cannot be achieved and execution is necessary. Other statutory revocation grounds concern later criminal outcomes. Completion of a suspension without revocation generally causes the sentence declaration to lose effect under Article 76, subject to its express later-revocation exceptions.

Payment or completion should be documented by the execution office, not inferred from a bank balance. Keep that confirmation with the final judgment when addressing any separate immigration application or request for evidence of the case outcome.

Official sources

• Taiwan High Prosecutors Office explains
• Criminal Code Article 41
• Code of Criminal Procedure Article 457
• Taichung District Prosecutors Office’s published procedure
• Article 484
• Article 74
• Article 75-1
• Article 76

Checked: October 8, 2026. Chinese statutory text controls.