A 33-year-old tattoo artist has been transferred to district prosecutors for allegedly raping a, client after drugging her with ketamine during a tattooing session late last month, the New Taipei City Police Department said.
In a story published by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) on Saturday, police were quoted as saying that the artist, Li You Chi (黎宥圻), lives in the Banciao District (板橋) and opened a tattoo studio named “Leo Tattoo” in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area.
A 20-year-old woman known as Siao Huan (小歡) had several discussions with Li while trying to decide what tattoo she should have on her arm and Li developed feelings for her, the police said.
When Li began tattooing her one night late last month, Siao Huan complained about the pain, police said, adding that Li allegedly produced a ketamine-laced cigarette that he said would “take away the pain.”
Li allegedly raped Siao Huan and left the studio after putting her clothes back on, the police said, adding that Siao Huan had only learned of the rape after noticing that her clothes showed signs of having been removed and visiting the hospital for a checkup.
The police arrested Li, who according to investigators, admitted that he had committed the crime, and that he had done so because he “really liked her.”
A tattoo artist nicknamed Kevin was quoted in the Liberty Times report as saying he was shocked to hear clients were being offered ketamine-laced cigarettes.
Tattoos on the arms are the least painful, Kevin said, adding that a skilled tattoo artist would never offer ketamine to a client as a painkiller.
Anesthetic gels can be applied to the body part where the tattoo is to go, Kevin said.
Gel is usually reserved for clients who are more sensitive to pain, Kevin said, adding that it added another 30 minutes to the tattooing process, but would almost completely block out pain.
How much tattooing hurts varies from client to client, but in general, the denser the concentration of nerves in the body part to be tattooed the more painful it is, Kevin said.
The pain produced by tattooing on the back, arms or legs is usually tolerable, Kevin said.
Kevin suggested that clients find tattoo artists with good reputations or whose clients they are familiar with if they wish to have tattoos in other areas, adding that clear contracts on the location, design and other details should be agreed by both parties.
Clients should also be accompanied by a friend and should avoid being alone with the tattoo artist, Kevin said.
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