By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — A Kaohsiung court has ordered a woman and her former junior-high-school classmate to pay NT$50,000 in damages to her husband after finding that their interactions crossed the line from friendship into an intimate relationship.
The Liberty Times reported that the husband, surnamed Yang (楊), is a Taiwanese businessperson based in the United States. He and his wife, surnamed Chang (張), have been married for more than 10 years and have two children. Yang filed a civil claim seeking NT$2 million after discovering that Chang had exchanged messages with two former classmates during a trip back to Taiwan in 2024.
According to the ruling, Chang returned to Taiwan alone last year for medical treatment and birthday-related plans. Yang later found LINE messages between Chang and a former junior-high-school classmate, also surnamed Chang (張), as well as a former elementary-school classmate, surnamed Chen (陳). Yang alleged that the conversations showed improper relationships.
The Kaohsiung District Court found that the messages between Chang and the junior-high-school classmate included expressions of longing, references to meeting at a motel, and a late-night meeting near the woman’s home. The judge said the content was not consistent with ordinary joking between old classmates and was enough to show conduct similar to that of romantic partners.
Chang and the two men denied having affairs and argued that Yang had obtained screenshots from her phone illegally, violating her privacy. They also said the messages were jokes between old classmates, and that one visit to Chang’s home had included elders, making improper conduct unlikely.
The court rejected part of that defense in the case involving the junior-high-school classmate, ruling that Chang and the man had infringed on Yang’s spousal rights. The two were ordered to pay NT$50,000 jointly.
Adultery is no longer a criminal offense in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Constitutional Court struck down the Criminal Code’s adultery provision in Interpretation No. 791 on May 29, 2020, ruling that criminal punishment for adultery violated constitutional protections for sexual autonomy and privacy. Before the ruling, adultery carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
However, extramarital relationships can still lead to civil liability. Spouses may file civil claims when a third party and a married partner are found to have infringed on marital or spousal rights. In this case, the Kaohsiung District Court treated the lawsuit as a civil damages claim, not a criminal adultery case.
The ruling can be appealed.
