The Taipei District Court sentenced Justin Lee (李宗瑞) to 18-and-a-half years in prison yesterday for sexually assaulting a number of women. He also received a three-year-and-10-month sentence for filming women without their consent and must compensate 12 victims a total of NT$14,250,000 (US$478,000).
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office charged Lee with sexually assaulting 28 women and filming the acts, and asked for a combined sentence of 30 years in prison for all the offenses.
However, the court ruled that Lee only raped nine women and filmed sex acts with 15 women without their consent.
Photo: CNA
Lee, who has been detained since August last year, appeared in court for the ruling. Lee’s attorney Chou Chih-hung (鄒志鴻) said Lee was unhappy with the verdict and would appeal it.
The district prosecutors’ office also said it would appeal the ruling with the Taiwan High Court.
An attorney for one of the women, Chang Li-yeh (張立業), quoted his client as saying that the sentence was too lenient.
“Lee is loathsome and he should be given a heavier sentence,” Chang cited his client as saying, adding that she has asked him to appeal the verdict.
Taipei prosecutors had said that Lee was suspected of drugging a number of women in several luxury nightclubs in Taipei since August 2009, taking them to his home and raping them while they were unconscious.
Lee also allegedly took home several women after getting them drunk at nightclubs and raped them, prosecutors added.
The district court said there was not sufficient evidence to prove that these women were drugged by Lee.
The court therefore referred to Article 255 of the Criminal Code, which states that a person commits rape when taking advantage of someone’s insanity or similar condition which makes resistance impossible, instead of charging Lee with aggravated forcible rape according to Article 221.
The three-year-and-10-months sentence is for invasion of privacy, while a 40-day sentence for threatening a victim can be commuted to a fine of NT$2.87 million.
Two victims reached settlements with Lee’s attorney outside of court and did not testify in the hearing, the court added.
The 28-year-old Lee has insisted during the hearing that the women had consented to sex and that he had not made any secret films.
Prosecutors have videos seized from Lee’s computers, but some of the videos and photographs — believed to be stills taken from the videos — were posted on the Internet shortly after Lee went into hiding last year.
Lee is the son of former Yuanta Financial Holding Co board member Lee Yueh-tsang (李岳蒼). He was well-known in Taipei for attending fashion parties and nightclubs, and several of his alleged victims were celebrities and models.
An investigation into Lee began after twin sisters accused him in July 2011 of drugging and raping the elder sister, and filming the entire process.
Additional reporting by staff writer
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS