A 22-year-old Tainan resident was found guilty on Wednesday of selling pornographic films in Taipei and given a two-year suspended sentence, commutable to a fine of NT$2,000.
Police discovered the man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), in possession of two bondage DVDs made by a Japanese company, SOD, at a stall in Taipei’s Guanghua Market in September last year.
“The two pornographic videos were filled with S&M [sado-masochism], bondage, sexual abuse and degrading behavior,” the Taipei District Court said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The judge found the videos had no redeeming artistic value and were without any medical or educational value,” the statement said.
“From an objective perspective, the content of the videos would stimulate or fulfill sexual desire in its viewers, while arousing shame and humiliation in the general public. Therefore, the defendant is found guilty of selling obscene materials and of offenses against sexual morality,” the court said.
The indictment said Hsieh, who is from Tainan’s Xuejia District (學甲), came to Taipei in search of work and rented a stall in the market last year to sell pornographic DVDs.
Hsieh reportedly told police that he bought the DVDs from a distributor called A-wei (阿偉) at NT$20 per film, and sold them for NT$40 to NT$50 each.
The court statement said the judge decided to be lenient on Hsieh because the defendant had said he was trying to earn money to support his elderly grandmother and several children in his family.
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