Taiwanese-Japanese actress Makiyo and her Japanese friend Takateru Tomoyori were given suspended prison sentences and supervised probation yesterday for assaulting a taxi driver in Taipei in February.
The Taipei District Court sentenced Makiyo to 10 months in prison, while Tomoyori was given a one-year sentence. However, because they pleaded guilty to assault and made an out-of-court settlement with him, the court decided to suspend the sentences.
The court also banned Makiyo and Tomoyori from leaving Taiwan and said they would have to remain under supervised probation for three and four years respectively. They will have to report to probation officers once a month during the probationary period, the court said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Makiyo and Tomoyori were charged with assault after they were caught on video beating up a taxi driver, surnamed Lin (林), on the night of Feb. 2. The incident arose over Lin’s refusal to drive faster, as Makiyo had requested, according to the verdict.
Lin suffered two fractured ribs and serious head injuries, that resulted in concussion and a brain hemorrhage. The pair later reached an out-of-court settlement of NT$3 million (US$101,700) with Lin.
Upon learning of the verdict, Lin’s wife said people should forgive each other whenever they can, but added that she would discuss the verdict with her lawyer before deciding whether to appeal.
Her husband still suffers from dizziness and pain, and he has difficulty focusing, she said, adding that her biggest concern is the surgery her husband is scheduled to have next month.
Makiyo’s lawyer, Hsu Ling-chu (徐鈴茱), said she would study the probation ruling before she and her client decide whether to appeal. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office also said it would also study the decision and decide whether to appeal.
Meanwhile, Tomoyori’s attorney, Wei Yi-lung (魏憶龍), said his client respects the ruling and has no intention of appealing.
In a statement, Tomoyori thanked the judicial system for giving him a chance to start over and said he appreciated the forgiveness granted by Lin, his family and all Taiwanese.
The court said in a statement that Makiyo had been under the influence of alcohol and that she left the scene without getting medical help for the victim. The pair’s attempts to conceal Makiyo’s involvement in the attack set a negative example for the public, the court said.
Makiyo at first denied that she had attacked Lin, but video evidence showed her kicking Lin and his car, the court said.
The court said the evidence could not prove whether Makiyo and Tomoyori intended to cause serious physical harm. Lin’s injuries were not untreatable and the attack did not amount to serious bodily harm, it added.
Prosecutors had recommended a six-year sentence for Tomoyori and a four-year term for Makiyo. However, in light of the settlement, prosecutors suggested sentences of two years and 16 months.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS