Chan Hui-hua (
According to Taipei Prosecutor Kuo Yung-fa's (郭永發) indictment -- based on earlier testimony from Chan and Yu -- Chan was addicted to gambling and had debts, which was a motivation for her to plan to extort money from Huang. She allegedly called Huang on Dec. 26, last year and made an appointment with him at Grand Hyatt Taipei to discuss possible solutions to Chan's mother's monetary problems.
The indictment says that Huang arrived and met Chan in the hotel room. Afterwards, Chan and Yu allegedly fed Huang drugs and called two prostitutes "Hsuan-hsuan" (萱萱) and "Hsiao-min" (小敏) to the hotel room for a sex party.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
However, the indictment says that Huang fell unconscious after he took the drugs, so Chan and Yu then took NT$13,000 from Huang's wallet and gave it to Chu and Tsui as payment and asked them to leave.
Kuo's indictment then says that Yu tied Huang up on the bed and pointed a toy pistol at Huang while demanding the PIN number for his ATM card. Chan then allegedly used the card to withdraw a total of NT$800,000 while Huang was detained from Dec. 27 to Dec. 31.
Kuo is seeking a 10-year sentence for Chan on charges of solicitation and robbery. Yu was charged for robbery as well but the prosecutor did not recommend a sentence for Yu because Yu, who has agreed to testify against Chan in the trial, is a witness under the protection of the Witness Protection Law (證人保護法). According to the law, the prosecutor must leave any sentencing decisions regarding Yu up to the discretion of the judge.
At the hearing, both Chan and Yu contradicted the prosecutor's indictment.
Chan told Judge Huang Kuei-hsing (黃桂興) that she was not addicted to gambling so she was not in any financial trouble. Chan also said that Huang came to the hotel room for a sex party and that there was no kidnapping or robbery.
"I don't need his money," she said. "I can provide my account information to prove my words. I did not rob him. I withdrew his money under his authorization."
She also said that it was Huang who brought the drugs.
"What I fed him was actually the antidote for the drug he took," she said.
The judge asked her why she knew it was the antidote and where she got it.
"Huang brought it from Hong Kong. He once gave me the same antidote after I took the same drug, so I knew what it was," she said.
Chan said that she met Huang in 1999 and that they soon began having what she called "sex parties" almost every day at different high-class hotels in Taipei.
Chan also said that Huang always brought his own drugs and would ask her to take them with him.
"I have witnesses to prove my words if necessary," she said.
As for the NT$13,000 from Huang's wallet, Chan said that it was actually from "her own purse."
"Yu told me that he and my brother owed [Hsuan-hsuan], the prostitute, that amount and asked me to pay her then," Chan said.
Yu also changed his testimony and seemed to corroborate Chan's account of the story.
Yu explained that the NT$13,000 was unrelated to the case.
"It had nothing to do with this case and we did not rob Huang since it was Chan's money," Yu sa
He also said that he fabricated his earlier confession.
"Again, we did not rob him. I was just saying what the prosecutor wanted to hear," he said. "It seemed to me that prosecutors only wanted to hear whatever was good for Huang. For me, I just wanted to get out from the Taipei Detention House as soon as possible."
Yu also denied that he ever used a toy pistol to threaten Huang for his PIN number.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
RSS