The Changhua District Court yesterday granted a repeat sexual offender release on bail of NT$90,000 in a contentious case that has seen confrontation between public prosecutors and judges, and caused public anger.
It was the latest round in a heated legal battle, in which prosecutor Chuang Ke-hui (莊珂惠), in an effort to protect sex crime victims, clashed with judges in the bail hearing.
The legal community and the public have compared the case, which provides a rare glimpse into the workings of bail hearings, to a Taiwanese soap opera.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
In yesterday’s hearing, Chuang demanded that the 30-year-old suspect, surnamed Wu (吳), be detained.
The suspect posed a danger to the public, she said, citing his record of sexual crimes involving three underage girls and allegations that he blackmailed up to 30 other girls with threats of releasing revenge porn.
Judge Lin Yi-chun (林怡君), who replaced a previous judge, ordered Wu’s release after increasing bail from the original NT$30,000.
Prosecutors accused Wu of contacting girls through online chat Web sites and talking them into undressing and sending him naked photographs, which he then stored on CDs.
Wu then asked the girls out on dates and took them to hotels, where they had sex, prosecutors said, adding that he would threaten to circulate the nude photographs if they did not comply.
Wu has been charged with breaking the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童與少年性剝削防制條) and offenses against privacy.
In a first bail hearing, Chuang managed to have Wu detained.
However, the defense filed for his release, after which Wu was released on bail in a second hearing.
After gathering more evidence, Chuang filed for Wu’s renewed detention, but in a third hearing at the Changhua court on Feb. 2, Judge Chen Yen-chih (陳彥志) again ruled in favor of the defense and released him on a NT$30,000 bail.
Flustered by Chen’s decision, Chuang reportedly asked: “Is it because it is near noon and the judge’s mind is not clear?”
Chuang’s remarks angered Chen, who accused her of contempt of court and ordered her arrested.
It was reportedly the first time a judge ordered a prosecutor’s arrest.
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