An 11-month prison sentence was finalized today for media personality Lucifer Chu (朱學恒), after he declined to appeal last month’s ruling by the High Court.
Chu was accused of forcibly kissing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-chun (鍾沛君) twice on the lips at a restaurant in 2022.
He was in March sentenced to 14 months in prison for indecent assault by the Taipei District Court, which he appealed.
Photo: Chang Wen-chuan, Taipei Times
On Nov. 14, the High Court in the case’s second ruling lowered Chu’s sentence to 11 months.
As the court had not received an appeal filing by 10:33am today, the ruling was finalized and Chu is set to serve his sentence, the court said.
At the time of the High Court ruling, Chu said on Facebook that he accepted the decision and would not file any further appeals.
The court said that Chu abused the trust of the victim to fulfill his own desires and acted indecently toward her, violating her bodily autonomy and causing her severe mental distress.
Moreover, during the first trial, Chu denied all wrongdoing and appeared on a televised talk show in which he mentioned the victim's name while discussing a political topic, showing no remorse for his actions or consideration for the victim and her feelings, the court said.
However, in the second trial, Chu admitted to the charges and expressed willingness to reconcile and offer financial reparations to the victim, taking to social media to issue a public apology on his own accord, it added.
Although Chu and Chung have not yet reached a point of reconciliation, Chu has shown remorse and so received a lessened sentence, it said.
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