The Taipei District Court last week found a US man guilty of fraud and a Pakistani man of rape and assault in separate cases, sentencing them to prison.
Police said that the American, surnamed Carter, defrauded a woman surnamed Hsu (許), with whom he was involved in a romantic relationship.
Despite being married, Carter logged on to dating sites to meet women and he led them to believe that he would marry them, investigators said.
Hsu said Carter told her that he owned a residence near Taipei’s Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園) and worked as an English teacher at the Kang Chiao International School in New Taipei City.
Hsu told police that Carter began borrowing money from her in September 2015, asking for NT$1 million (US$32,533), claiming that he had to pay a fine in the US for unpaid taxes.
He borrowed money 20 times for a total of NT$4.13 million, but paid back only NT$30,000, Hsu said.
Carter disappeared in March 2016, Hsu said, adding that she filed a lawsuit to get her money back after realizing that she had been scammed.
During the trial, Carter said he worked for the CIA and told the court that “if you imprison me, it will damage Taiwan-US relations.”
However, the judges did not believe his claims and sentenced him to 22 months in prison, and ordered him to return the money.
The ruling can be appealed.
In the second case, the court found the Pakistani man, surnamed Wanes, guilty of assaulting a woman and raping her.
Court documents showed that Wanes came to Taiwan on a tourist visa to visit family members, but overstayed his visa.
In September 2016, Wanes approached a woman with learning disabilities and took her to a hotel in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), investigators said.
When the woman returned home, her family members saw that she had bruises on her face and filed a report with the police.
A medical examination found semen on her body and underwear, and a DNA test pointed to Wanes, police said.
Prosecutors examined surveillance camera footage and questioned the woman, determining that Wanes had punched her and raped her.
The court sentenced Wanes to eight years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.
The ruling can be appealed.
The court said that if the ruling is upheld in an appeals court, Wanes would be deported upon his release.
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