The Taichung District Court earlier this month fined a landlord NT$47,710 for breaching privacy, after he entered a tenant’s apartment uninvited while the tenant was naked.
The landlord, a man surnamed Huang (黃), did not dispute momentarily seeing the tenant, also surnamed Huang (黃), as she stepped out of her bathroom naked after showering in May last year, the verdict said.
The woman pressed breach of privacy charges and demanded NT$510,000 in compensation, saying that the landlord had forced his way into the unit by breaking the door chain and leered at her before leaving, it said.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
She claimed that she was traumatized by the incident and developed mental disorders including panic and anxiety disorders that prevented her from being gainfully employed, it said.
The woman stated that she had to rely on the care of her family for three months after the event, it said.
The plaintiff said the sum she demanded included costs of medical bills, lost income and punitive damages, according to the verdict.
The landlord told the court that he was showing the apartment unit to a couple interested in renting and that he closed the door as soon as he realized he made a mistake, it said.
The judge reviewed surveillance footage from a camera in the hallway to determine that the landlord stuck his head through the door for three seconds before retreating with the prospective tenants to an adjacent unit.
The court could not prove or disprove the plaintiff’s allegation that the landlord broke the door chain or leered at her from the recording, it said.
The plaintiff provided medical documentation from Chung Shan Medical University Hospital showing that she visited the psychology department complaining of mental disorders, but did not receive a diagnosis, it said.
The court rejected the plaintiff’s mental illness claims due to a lack of evidence, but found the landlord at fault for intruding on the privacy of his tenant, according to the verdict.
The man must pay NT$7,110 for the tenant’s medical bills and another NT$40,000 as compensation for the pain the incident caused, it said.
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