Former New Party legislator Elmer Fung (
"The DNA collected from sperm taken from the housekeeper's vagina and underwear matched that of Fung," the presiding judge said yesterday at the Shilin District Court as he delivered the sentence.
"While there was no witness to the crime, the evidence shows that Fung sexually assaulted [the woman]," the judge said.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
A defiant Fung continued to proclaim his innocence yesterday, telling reporters he never raped his former housekeeper, and suggested that the verdict was politically motivated.
"I have been persecuted by the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] and the court because I have criticized the government," he said.
"I will appeal the ruling to the Taiwan High Court to prove my innocence," he said.
Fung was accused in February last year of raping his Filipina housekeeper, identified only as Rose, in November 2003.
Fung said Rose had made up the allegations because she was seeking revenge against his wife, who had complained about her work and had reprimanded her.
He suggested that Rose had framed him by taking semen from a condom he had used with his wife.
After the scandal erupted, Fung paid Rose NT$800,000 (US$24,150) and sent her back to the Philippines. Rose's supporters said the cash Fung had given to her was hush money.
Fung admitted to giving Rose NT$800,000, but insisted that the money was part of the woman's annual salary plus layoff pay.
Fung's daughter, Fung Fu-hwa (
"The judge took only the evidence presented by the maid and ignored all the evidence we presented," she said.
Fung's previous legal woes were factored into the sentence, as the judge noted that the former lawmaker had been found guilty for libel against Tseng Wen-hui (
Because Fung had committed another criminal act within five years of his first conviction, according to the Criminal Code, the court was obliged to deliver a heavier sentence.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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