The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the four-year sentence given to former New Party legislator Elmer Feng (馮滬祥) for the rape of his Filipina housekeeper in November 2003.
"The results of investigations by prosecutors and forensic scientists could not prove what Feng claimed, so the court decided to find him guilty and the four-year sentence will remain," the verdict read.
The verdict was referring to Feng's defense during the court hearing.
Two pairs of the maid's underwear became critical pieces of evidence in Feng's original trial. Prosecutors and forensic scientists discovered semen on the maid's underwear and the DNA matched Feng's.
Feng told judges that his former maid, identified only as Rose, had framed him by taking semen from a condom he had used when having intercourse with his wife and smearing it inside her underwear.
Immediately after the alleged rape, Feng paid Rose NT$800,000 (US$25,000) and sent her back to the Philippines.
The Taipei District Court originally sentenced Feng to four years in jail. Feng then appealed to the High Court. After the original verdict was upheld, Feng appealed to the Taiwan Supreme Court, where his defense presented a statement from forensic expert Henry Lee (
The Supreme Court then returned the case to the High Court for a new trial in which High Court judges yesterday decided to uphold his four-year sentence.
Feng can appeal again to the Supreme Court within 10 days of his receiving the verdict.
Yesterday's verdict added that the High Court had changed the date of the hearing four times at Feng's request, but he still failed to attend any of the rescheduled hearings.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS