Changhua District prosecutors charged a man yesterday with extortion, assault and other charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a woman in a bid to deter her from running in a county councilor election.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that a woman was tricked by a man into going to a motel, where she was sexually assaulted and photographs were taken of her naked.
The man had reportedly worked on several election campaigns, across party lines.
The man allegedly threatened to release the photographs and further harm the woman if she did not back out of the county election.
The victim, who has chosen to remain anonymous, at first insisted on submitting her candidate application, but finally backed out after receiving repeated threats that she would be physically injured if she didn’t withdraw.
The Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office identified the suspect only by his surname, Hung (洪).
His alleged victim was rumored to be a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), although prosecutors have declined to confirm this.
Prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of two years and six months for Hung.
Hung reportedly said that his actions did not constitute sexual assault because “the feeling had been mutual.” He also denied he was working for a rival politician.
However, he reportedly admitted to taking nude photographs of the woman and “discouraging” her from running in the election.
The prosecutors said they notified local police to boost surveillance of illegal activities in the area to prevent more politically motivated crimes.
Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) was questioned by lawmakers about the case during yesterday’s meeting of the Internal Administration Committee. The case was regrettable, Jiang said, and he would instruct the National Police Agency to investigate the incident.
Violence will not be tolerated either in campaigning or in the December elections, he said.
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