A Nicaraguan baseball player was taken into custody yesterday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, a prosecutor said.
Huembes Gustavo Lopez, 28, who is in Taiwan to play in the 17th Intercontinental Cup baseball -tournament in Taichung, was detained after he failed to pay NT$200,000 bail, the prosecutor said.
Lopez was taken to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office for further questioning after being questioned by police.
Prosecutors declined to release details of the case pending further investigation, while -Chinese--language media said he was accused of sexually assaulting a young woman in a hotel.
He allegedly met the woman outside a convenience store late on Tuesday and took her to his -hotel room to chat. The woman called a friend the next morning claiming she was assaulted, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported.
Taichung police said the victim called a friend for help from the hotel room. By the time the friend arrived at the hotel, the woman had disappeared. She was subsequently found by police and taken to -hospital where she was examined.
The Nicaragua team coach, Edgard Matamoros, apologized on Wednesday on his player’s behalf and said he would respect the decision of the Taiwanese authorities.
Nicaraguan Ambassador William Tapia was considering traveling to Taichung yesterday, his office said. For the time being, the Nicaragua team will continue to play in the tournament.
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