New Taipei prosecutors have recommended that Raphael Lin (???), a former boyfriend of lawmaker Kao Chia-yu (???), be punished harshly after indicting him on eight different charges, including for hurting and intimidating Kao.
The New Taipei City District Prosecutors Office indicted Lin on Tuesday for committing bodily harm against Kao, coercing and intimidating her, slandering her, and maliciously spreading texts using her computer.
Lin was also indicted for forgery in falsifying his bank records, and violating Kao’s privacy and personal freedoms while dating her.
Though asking the court to harshly punish Lin, New Taipei prosecutors did not specify any specific penalties or sentences they felt Lin deserved.
Lin’s alleged behavior was exposed by Mirror Media weekly in November 2021, after which Kao reported her situation to police, leading to Lin’s arrest in his rented room at the Grand Forward Hotel in New Taipei’s Banqiao District the next day.
Lin has been detained incommunicado since the early hours of Dec. 2.
In their indictment, prosecutors accused Lin of using violence against Kao in the hotel room and controlling her movements on Nov. 11 and 12, the indictment said.
Although Kao was allowed to work at the Legislative Yuan on those days, Lin insisted that she stay in contact by phone, provide a record of her taxi rides, and return back immediately after work, prosecutors alleged.
At the funeral of Lin’s mother in late November, Kao had to get down on her knees in public at Lin’s request, and Lin then pressed down on her head, pushed her onto a sofa in the funeral hall, and pulled off her hat and mask, according to prosecutors.
The case drew widespread attention because Kao is a well-known lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and Lin appeared to be well connected in DPP circles.
Later on Tuesday, Kao thanked prosecutors for their investigation and said she hoped she would be the last victim.
Kao promised that she will continue to push for amendments to the Domestic Violence Prevention Law to fully protect victims and deal appropriately with offenders.
Lin was not charged with violating the National Security Act, the Money Laundering Control Act or the Tax Collection Act that opposition Kuomintang lawmakers had alleged, with prosecutors citing a lack of solid evidence.
Those allegations only resulted in the forgery charge, prosecutors said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel