The Banciao District Court yesterday failed to arrest a taxi driver charged with raping a Japanese female student and who has now fled his apartment after being released on bail.
The Taiwan High Court on Friday ordered Banciao District Court to set aside a previous ruling that released taxi driver Hsieh Tung-hsien (謝東憲). The Taiwan High Court issued the decision after an appeal filed by Banciao prosecutors against the earlier ruling.
NOT AT HOME
The district court on Friday evening issued a summons for Hsieh and ordered police to deliver the summons to his apartment, but Hsieh’s wife told police her husband had left home and she was unable to contact him.
The district court then issued an arrest warrant and said if Hsieh failed to report to the district court tomorrow morning, he would be put on the wanted list.
Investigators said a university exchange student from Japan was allegedly raped on Monday by Hsieh who had offered her a ride after she got lost looking for her boyfriend’s apartment in a remote area of Tucheng District (土城), New Taipei City (新北市).
ORIGINAL ARREST
Police arrested Hsieh the next day and he admitted having sex with the woman, but denied the rape charge. Banciao prosecutors, however, believed there was sufficient evidence to charge Hsieh and asked Banciao District Court to order his detention.
Banciao District Court judge Lu Chun-chieh (盧軍傑) on Wednesday ruled Hsieh be released on NT$50,000 bail, which upset many Netizens, who slammed the ruling as yet another example of so-called “dinosaur judges.”
Executive director of the Garden of Hope Foundation Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said yesterday if the suspect broke the conditions of his bail and went into hiding, the district court should take responsibility.
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