Leaving ROC with pending court date

I’m writing on behalf of a friend of mine who has a legal question. Here is his situation:

Three weeks ago on a Saturday he was charged with drunk driving – blowing a 0.51 in the breathalyzer. There was a small accident (no one was hurt) but it was not his fault and the other party admitted guilt. He had to go through the process of that charge and he passed the physical drunk test and was able to give a full statement that night. He finally saw a prosecutor on the Sunday afternoon. He was released without having to pay bail. The prosecutor told him (through a translator that was not so good) that he could not leave Taiwan until after his court date. He said that he would receive a notice in the mail telling him when his court date was. Three weeks went by without a notice.

The problem is that he has a trip planned From Jan 20-Feb5. A Taiwanse friend called the court house and she asked them if they knew when his court date would be as he was wondering about his trip. The court date was set for Jan 30 which is when my friend would be away on his trip. The official at the court was able to change the court date to Feb8 and she said he could leave Taiwan and come back for that date. She said that as long as he is back by Feb 8th, it is ok to leave the country and come back.

Since then, the court notice has been received and indeed the date is set for Feb 8.

Who should he listen to? He was originally told not to leave Taiwan until after the court date and now he is being told that he can. Was the original message a lack of communication? They never game him any documentation that says that he is not allowed to leave the country.

Are people like him forbidden from leaving Taiwan? He is quite nervous to leave on a trip if it will cause a lot of trouble…

He should check with his local National Immigration Agency office to see if they’ve placed any departure restrictions against him.

I would imagine that you are not allowed to leave the country until any charges against you are dealt with and penalties paid.