A Taiwan court upheld an 8.5-year prison sentence and deportation for an Indian engineer convicted of sexually assaulting a man in Kaohsiung in January 2025.
Tags:Source: OT-Team(G), 澳门新闻通讯社
A second-instance court in Taiwan has upheld an 8-year-and-6-month prison sentence for an Indian engineer convicted of sexual assaulting a Taiwanese man who was dressed in women’s clothing, according to media reports on Sept. 28.
The Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court rejected the defendant’s appeal and upheld the original verdict. After completing his sentence, the man will be deported from Taiwan.
The incident occurred at around 5 a.m. one day in January 2025 in Kaohsiung’s Cianjin District. Before dawn had fully broken, the Indian engineer saw a man wearing women’s clothing on the street and decided to follow him, according to court records.
The victim, unaware of the danger, returned alone to the apartment building where he was renting a room. The defendant followed him into the building and even took the same elevator.
During the elevator ride, the man reportedly claimed that he was going to the fifth floor to visit a friend. The victim did not suspect anything unusual and allowed him to enter the residential area after the elevator arrived.
The two later entered a public laundry room, where the man allegedly began the assault. He grabbed the victim’s hair and forcibly restrained him. The victim struggled to escape and managed to return to his room, attempting to close and lock the door.
However, the defendant allegedly forced his way inside and continued the assault. Court documents stated that the defendant continued despite discovering that the victim was male. The victim sustained multiple injuries while resisting.
During the incident, the victim took out his phone and opened the 110 emergency call screen. After seeing that the victim was preparing to contact police, the defendant stopped and fled. The victim then immediately reported the case.
Police launched an investigation after receiving the report. Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the building, collected evidence at the scene, and conducted forensic examinations of items left behind. The video footage and evidence helped police identify and arrest the suspect.
During court proceedings, the defendant argued that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol that night and had no memory of what happened, claiming that he should receive a reduced punishment because he had been intoxicated.
However, judges rejected the explanation after reviewing the evidence, especially surveillance footage from the elevator. The video showed the defendant appearing calm, with normal movements, and even fixing his hair. The court found that his behavior did not match someone who was severely intoxicated or experiencing a blackout.
During the first trial, the court also examined the victim’s medical records. The victim had bruising on his forehead, bite marks on his chest, and injuries around his genital area. The court determined that the injuries showed the victim had strongly resisted during the assault.
The first-instance court found the defendant guilty of forced sexual intercourse involving unlawful entry into a residence and sentenced him to eight years and six months in prison. The court also ordered that he be deported after serving his sentence.
The defendant appealed the ruling, sending the case to the Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court for a second trial.
After reviewing the case files and evidence again, the second-instance judges concluded that the defendant had followed the victim, gained access to the residential area by deception, and carried out the assault in both the public laundry room and the victim’s room.
The court noted that the defendant did not stop even after realizing that the victim was male. Judges found that the crime had caused both physical injuries and lasting psychological harm to the victim.
The court also pointed out that, through the second trial, the defendant had not acknowledged wrongdoing, apologized to the victim, or proposed compensation. The two sides were unable to reach a settlement.
The Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court ruled that the original judgment had correctly determined the facts, properly applied the law, and imposed an appropriate sentence. It therefore rejected the appeal and upheld the 8-year-and-6-month prison term and the deportation order.
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