A former assistant to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) — who has accused her boyfriend Raphael Lin (林秉樞) of domestic abuse — yesterday said that Lin has been asking “influential” friends to make statements claiming his innocence and mislead the investigation.
Ma Wen-yu (馬文鈺) made the claim at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, and accused Lin of having a long history of abusing women.
Kao’s accusations were first reported by Mirror Media magazine on Tuesday.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
The magazine said that Lin allegedly assaulted Kao on Nov. 11 and subsequently locked her up for two days in a hotel room.
He allegedly threatened to leak intimate images of her if she did not stay in a relationship with him, the report said.
Prosecutors detained Lin on Thursday.
He faces charges including assault causing injury, unlawful confinement and breaching personal privacy, the prosecutors said.
Ma — who had been Kao’s partner for about 10 years before they broke up last year — yesterday presented material that he said could be used as evidence in the case.
Lin allegedly asked influential people and politicians — including former DPP lawmaker Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), a long-time friend of Lin’s — to mislead the investigation and pressure media outlets not to report on the case, Ma said.
Lin allegedly has financial backing from undisclosed sources and has said that he has political clout because of his friendships with lawmakers and officials, Ma said.
Lin is allegedly the leader of “cyberarmy groups” that push a certain political agenda, Ma said.
He has seen photographs and video footage of Kao from Nov. 11 showing her with blood on her face and bruises, as well as material showing other victims who had been assaulted by Lin, Ma said.
Lin allegedly forced Kao to write a confession saying that she was to blame for the incident, Ma said.
Lin allegedly also demanded that Kao publicly vilify Ma, he said.
He said he would forward the “evidence” to prosecutors and file a judicial complaint against Lin.
Tuan on Friday wrote on Facebook that he had known Lin for almost 10 years, but they had not met often in person.
Tuan said that Lin had asked him to inquire with the magazine what reports it was planning on the issue.
However, he later realized that Lin had tried to deceive him, Tuan said.
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