The Taiwan High Court yesterday found former New Party legislator Elmer Fung (馮滬祥) not guilty on a charge of raping his Philippine housekeeper in 2004.
Fung had been found guilty by the Taipei District Court and convicted twice by the Taiwan High Court, but after the Philippine woman appeared as a witness and withdrew her accusation, Fung was found not guilty by the Taiwan High Court.
Prosecutors said they could take the case to the Supreme Court.
The Philippine woman, identified only as Rose, accused Fung of raping her in August 2004, and provided prosecutors with the underwear she wore after the alleged rape and a pair she said she wore after she took a shower six hours after the incident.
After the Philippine woman filed the lawsuit, Fung agreed to pay her NT$800,000 in compensation.
Rose’s supporters claimed that the cash was hush money.
Prosecutors and forensic scientists found DNA on the maid’s underwear that matched Fung’s. The victim’s injuries and her statements also corroborated the accusation that Fung had sexually assaulted her, prosecutors had said.
Fung told judges that his former maid had framed him by taking semen from a condom he had used when having intercourse with his wife and smearing it inside her underwear. Fung yesterday said he was glad the court had cleared his reputation.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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