A man was given a sentence of six years and two months on Friday for attacking his boyfriend with sulfuric acid in 2005. Yang Yao-jui (楊耀瑞), 39, poured acid on his boyfriend’s face because the man wanted to break up with him after discovering he wasn’t a woman.
The Supreme Court said that because Yang had paid NT$3 million (US$100,000) in compensation to the victim and a hospital had proven that Yang was mentally ill, the court decided to give him a lighter sentence.
Yang poured sulfuric acid on Liang Shun-chih (梁順智) in September 2005 because Liang wanted to leave him after finding out that the “girlfriend” he was dating was likely a man pretending to be a female.
Liang was permanently blinded by the acid, the court said.
After the attack, Liang, 29, told police that his girlfriend’s name was “Lin Wan-yi.” Liang told police they met on the Internet in November 2004, and Lin quickly became his girlfriend.
Liang said Lin had long hair and had always worn a hat and a face mask, so he had never seen her face. Although they had had sex more than 50 times, he was never allowed to touch her breasts or genitals. Lin had always asked him to close his eyes during sex and demanded him to enter from the back, Liang told police, adding that Lin mainly performed oral sex on him.
Liang told the police he wanted to leave Lin after he suspected Lin was a man pretending to be a female.
On Sept. 2, 2005, the two met at a building at National Chiao Tung University to discuss the breakup. When they met, Lin asked him to close his eyes and kneel down. When he did what he was told, Liang said he suddenly felt extreme pain as Lin poured sulfuric acid over his head and body.
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