By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — The High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court (臺灣高等法院高雄分院) has upheld an eight-year, six-month prison sentence for an Indian engineer convicted of sexually assaulting a person described by CTi and TVBS as a “man with long hair wearing women’s clothing” (留長髮、身著女裝的男子), after following them into a rented residence, according to a Sept. 27, 2026, report by CTI News. The decision may be appealed.
The ruling also ordered the defendant to be deported after completing the sentence or receiving a pardon.
Court findings cited in the report said the assault occurred at about 5 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, after the defendant encountered the victim on a street in Cianjin District (前金區) and followed them to a shared apartment.
The defendant allegedly claimed to be visiting another tenant to gain entry. Once inside, he restrained the victim and forced sexual activity in a common area and a bedroom, the report said.
The victim called Taiwan’s 110 police emergency number and showed the call to the defendant, who then stopped and left the room. Police later arrested him near the building’s ground-floor entrance.
The defendant argued during the proceedings that he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and lacked awareness or control at the time. He also suggested that the encounter may have involved a financial transaction.
The court rejected those arguments after reviewing surveillance footage and evidence of the victim’s injuries. Judges said the footage showed the defendant arranging his hair in an elevator and waiting on steps without obvious difficulty, undermining his claim that he was severely impaired.
The court also found that bite and scratch injuries on the victim’s head, chest and shoulders were consistent with resistance and violence.
In upholding the lower court’s sentence, the panel cited the serious physical and psychological harm caused to the victim, the defendant’s attempts to shift responsibility, and his failure to reach a settlement or provide compensation.
People in Taiwan seeking help over sexual assault, sexual harassment, or domestic violence can contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 24-hour 113 Protection Hotline. Anyone facing immediate danger should call the National Police Agency at 110.
