Chan Hui-hua (
According to Taipei Prosecutor Kuo Yung-fa's (郭永發) indictment -- based on earlier testimony from Chan and Yu -- Chan was addicted to gambling and had debts, which was a motivation for her to plan to extort money from Huang. She allegedly called Huang on Dec. 26, last year and made an appointment with him at Grand Hyatt Taipei to discuss possible solutions to Chan's mother's monetary problems.
The indictment says that Huang arrived and met Chan in the hotel room. Afterwards, Chan and Yu allegedly fed Huang drugs and called two prostitutes "Hsuan-hsuan" (萱萱) and "Hsiao-min" (小敏) to the hotel room for a sex party.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
However, the indictment says that Huang fell unconscious after he took the drugs, so Chan and Yu then took NT$13,000 from Huang's wallet and gave it to Chu and Tsui as payment and asked them to leave.
Kuo's indictment then says that Yu tied Huang up on the bed and pointed a toy pistol at Huang while demanding the PIN number for his ATM card. Chan then allegedly used the card to withdraw a total of NT$800,000 while Huang was detained from Dec. 27 to Dec. 31.
Kuo is seeking a 10-year sentence for Chan on charges of solicitation and robbery. Yu was charged for robbery as well but the prosecutor did not recommend a sentence for Yu because Yu, who has agreed to testify against Chan in the trial, is a witness under the protection of the Witness Protection Law (證人保護法). According to the law, the prosecutor must leave any sentencing decisions regarding Yu up to the discretion of the judge.
At the hearing, both Chan and Yu contradicted the prosecutor's indictment.
Chan told Judge Huang Kuei-hsing (黃桂興) that she was not addicted to gambling so she was not in any financial trouble. Chan also said that Huang came to the hotel room for a sex party and that there was no kidnapping or robbery.
"I don't need his money," she said. "I can provide my account information to prove my words. I did not rob him. I withdrew his money under his authorization."
She also said that it was Huang who brought the drugs.
"What I fed him was actually the antidote for the drug he took," she said.
The judge asked her why she knew it was the antidote and where she got it.
"Huang brought it from Hong Kong. He once gave me the same antidote after I took the same drug, so I knew what it was," she said.
Chan said that she met Huang in 1999 and that they soon began having what she called "sex parties" almost every day at different high-class hotels in Taipei.
Chan also said that Huang always brought his own drugs and would ask her to take them with him.
"I have witnesses to prove my words if necessary," she said.
As for the NT$13,000 from Huang's wallet, Chan said that it was actually from "her own purse."
"Yu told me that he and my brother owed [Hsuan-hsuan], the prostitute, that amount and asked me to pay her then," Chan said.
Yu also changed his testimony and seemed to corroborate Chan's account of the story.
Yu explained that the NT$13,000 was unrelated to the case.
"It had nothing to do with this case and we did not rob Huang since it was Chan's money," Yu sa
He also said that he fabricated his earlier confession.
"Again, we did not rob him. I was just saying what the prosecutor wanted to hear," he said. "It seemed to me that prosecutors only wanted to hear whatever was good for Huang. For me, I just wanted to get out from the Taipei Detention House as soon as possible."
Yu also denied that he ever used a toy pistol to threaten Huang for his PIN number.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final