A woman who allegedly touched her male friend’s private parts while he was asleep during a visit to Taiwan’s Penghu Islands has been sentenced to six months in prison for sexual assault.
The Penghu District Court handed down the sentence recently, allowing the woman, identified by her pseudonym Hanhan, to pay a fine in lieu of serving jail time. She was also granted a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to attend three sessions of legal education.
According to the court’s judgment, Hanhan travelled to Penghu on April 30 this year and temporarily stayed at the rented accommodation of her male friend, identified as A-Xiang, after accepting his invitation.
At around 2am to 3am the following day, Hanhan reportedly woke up to use the toilet when she noticed that A-Xiang’s trousers appeared noticeably swollen while he was sleeping.
She then allegedly reached out and touched his private parts through his trousers before moving her fingertip towards the tip of his penis.
A-Xiang woke up during the incident and was so angered by the unwanted contact that he immediately went to the police station to lodge a report. He later sought treatment at a psychiatric department.
During investigations, Hanhan admitted to touching him, explaining that she had noticed his trousers appeared slightly larger and initially touched him once before running her fingertip towards the tip of his penis.
Investigators also found that Hanhan had asked A-Xiang at around midnight on May 5 whether he would allow her to perform oral sex on him.
Prosecutors argued that her actions constituted an indecent act because they were objectively capable of arousing sexual desire and were carried out with the intention of satisfying her own sexual urges.
During court proceedings, Hanhan admitted to the offence, while both parties had also reached a civil settlement.
After considering that she had fulfilled the settlement conditions, the court sentenced her to six months’ imprisonment for sexual assault by taking advantage of another person’s inability to resist.
The sentence was suspended for two years, during which she must remain under supervision and attend three legal education sessions.
