Taipei prosecutors yesterday charged movie director Doze Niu (鈕承澤) with sexual assault, after tests matched Niu’s DNA with samples taken from a staffer’s chest.
Niu, 52, has been accused of sexually assaulting a staffer, who was working on the set of his new film Horse Racing (跑馬).
The staffer said that she told her roommate what had happened after the incident, and they went to a hospital to have her injuries examined and subsequently filed a complaint with the police.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office subpoenaed Niu for questioning, and he was released on Dec. 10 last year on NT$1.5 million (US$48,788) bail.
At first Niu claimed he was drunk and could not remember the details, then later publicly announced that they had been in a relationship.
“Maybe I am just a stupid man... We had a gathering of friends that night and she stayed after the others left, so maybe there was misinterpretation of the situation,” Niu told reporters on Dec. 10.
Prosecutors said the injury report corroborated the staffer’s description of how Niu attacked her and forced himself upon her.
According to the indictment, the staffer went with company executives to Niu’s residence, and when the executives departed, had no intention of staying further.
“Niu allegedly … constrained the woman on the sofa, and then forcibly removed her clothing and underwear,” it said.
“Then he allegedly used his fingers ... to sexually assault her. However, the woman put up a fight and after the alleged assault she said she was shaken up and began sobbing on the sofa,” the indictment read.
The medical report showed that the woman had bruises and chafed skin on her hands and legs, matching her description of the alleged assault.
She also had fresh lacerations on her genitalia, so prosecutors said there was sufficient evidence to prove that Niu had acted against her will.
Women’s rights groups have denounced Niu for making excuses to justify his actions, saying that he abused his position a powerful figure with authority over female staffers.
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