The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a High Court decision to convict former lawmaker Fung Hu-hsiang (馮滬祥) of raping a Philippine caregiver, and sentenced him to three years and four months in prison.
According to the verdict, the former New Party legislator raped the woman, who was hired by his family, at his home in Taipei in 2004. After the rape, she contacted a friend, who informed the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei of the abuse.
An employee from the office accompanied her to a local hospital for treatment and the hospital reported the rape to the police, according to the court.
The woman returned to the Philippines after signing an NT$800,000 settlement agreement with Fung.
In the first and second trials and the first retrial, Fung was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of rape. In the second retrial, he was sentenced to one year on charges of taking advantage of his authority to have sex with someone, but the prison term was reduced to six months, with the penalties commutable to a fine.
In the third and fourth retrials, Fung was found not guilty after the woman retreacted her original police report and denied that she had been raped. However, Fung was again sentenced to four years at the fifth retrial.
In the sixth retrial, the Taiwan High Court found Fung guilty and sentenced him to three years and four months in prison.
The Supreme Court’s verdict on Friday is final.
In a statement issued on Friday, Fung accused the Democratic Progressive Party government of political revenge and judicial persecution, and said the verdict is meant to damage his reputation.
He said he is innocent and accused the police of framing him.
Fung said he would serve his prison term regarding the act as a kind of “[religious] training,” and hopes that his compatriots would continue to work for the cause of “revitalizing Chunghwa [China]” in spite of the oppression of the “Taiwanese independence forces,” adding that he firmly believes that “unification [with China] will definitely win and Taiwanese independence will lose.”
He said he is proud to “sacrifice for the grand mission of unification with China.”
Additional Reporting by Hsiang Cheng-chen
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS