By KHT Staff. AI illustration image.
KAOHSIUNG — A man who slipped a letter detailing his former girlfriend’s medical information and intimate life into her husband’s scooter storage compartment has been ordered to pay her NT$60,000 in damages, according to TVBS.
The man, identified by his surname, Chang (張), began dating the woman in October 2023. They broke up in April 2024, and she married another man that September.
Resentful of the breakup and subsequent marriage, Chang compiled a letter addressed to her husband as “cousin.” It included claims about fertility problems and their past sexual relationship, accompanied by photographs of trips together, receipts and screenshots of private conversations. He placed the material in the husband’s scooter beside the couple’s home, the report said.
The woman reported considerable psychological distress following the disclosure, sought psychiatric treatment and argued frequently with her husband. The couple eventually signed a divorce agreement.
The Ciaotou District Court (橋頭地方法院) found that Chang had infringed her privacy by revealing highly personal medical and sexual information without her consent. The conduct also constituted sexual harassment. He was ordered to pay NT$60,000 in compensation.
In a separate criminal proceeding, Chang received a two-month prison sentence for illegally using personal data, convertible to a fine.
The man she married after breaking up with Chang also sought NT$90,000 in compensation. He argued that the letter deliberately humiliated him and infringed his legally protected marital interests.
The court rejected his claim, explaining that the privacy rights involved belonged to the woman herself. Receiving the letter or being her spouse did not entitle him to compensation for the infringement of her rights.
His distress also did not, by itself, establish a serious unlawful infringement of his own protected rights, the court said. Conduct contributing to marital conflict does not automatically create liability for a subsequent divorce.
The rulings remain subject to appeal, TVBS reported.
