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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the