A Paraguayan diplomat, who was removed from his post last week over allegations that he infected four Taiwanese women with a venereal disease, made public two health reports yesterday to try to prove that he was healthy.
Ruben Dario Benitez Palma presented the results of two medical exams at a news conference in Taipei. One of the check-ups was conducted before he left Paraguay to be stationed in Taiwan two years ago, while the other one was conducted Saturday at the Shin Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital in Taipei, which states that "there is no evidence of warts on external genitalia."
PHOTO: CNA
"Both reports indicate that there is no problem with my physical health and prove that the allegations against me were totally untrue," Benitez Palma said.
The case was first exposed last Thursday when a woman who claimed to be one of the victims held a press conference in the company of two PFP legislators.
The woman, who identified herself as "Miss A," accused the diplomat of knowingly infecting her with genital warts, or condyloma accuminata.
Three other women allegedly also contracted the disease from Benitez Palma after having sex with him, and one of them claimed to have attempted suicide after her complaints to the Paraguayan embassy were allegedly ignored.
The allegations, which were made during a high-profile visit by Paraguayan President Luis Angel Gonzalez Macchi to Taiwan last week, forced the Paraguay embassy to promptly remove Benitez Palma from his post.
PFP legislator Chin Huei-chu (
Chin said the diplomat's medical report at the Cathay General Hospital shows that he indeed had genital warts when he went there for a checkup in March last year.
PFP lawmaker Li Yong-ping (
Li also claimed last week that Benitez Palma had been fully aware of his health condition, as another one of the women accompanied him to the hospital for treatment. But the diplomat refused to receive treatment and started having sex with unknowing women, according to Li.
MOFA spokeswoman Katherine Chang (
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