A Changhua man has been fined NT$12,000 in a civil suit for calling a woman an “idiot.”
The man, surnamed Chen (陳), last year was involved in a quarrel with a woman surnamed Liu (劉) over right of way in a parking lot at a hypermarket in Taichung, the Changhua District Court said in its ruling on Friday.
Chen called Liu an “idiot” after she refused to move her car for him, the court said.
Photo: Taipei Times
He was fined NT$3,000 in a criminal case of public insult.
Liu pressed a claim for civil compensation, saying that Chen’s name-calling resulted in anxiety and depression, the ruling said.
She was frightened to drive or go out and was diagnosed with depression at Yuanlin Christian Hospital, the court said, adding that she was on sick leave for six months due to the condition.
Her monthly wage was NT$60,000, it said.
She sought NT$590,680, with NT$330,000 for loss of salary, NT$250,000 in solatium, NT$6,500 for medical expenses and more than NT$4,100 for transportation to the hospital, the ruling said.
Chen offered NT$50,000 in compensation in exchange for immunity from criminal complaint, but Liu rejected the offer, it said.
The civil compensation claim did not meet the principle of proportionality, he told the court.
The word “idiot” would not cause a target of the insult to have depression, while such serious mental problems from a one-off incident seems questionable, the ruling said.
Given that the two parties did not know each other prior to the incident, the defendant would not have known the plaintiff had a mental disease, it said.
As the plaintiff could not prove that her depression was a result of a one-off incident of being called an “idiot,” her claim for compensation for medical expenses, transportation and salary loss was groundless, it said, adding that NT$12,000 in solatium was proper.
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