[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] A woman who runs a skin care business in Taiwan claimed that she was sexually assaulted while giving a male customer a waxing treatment, but prosecutors and then the court declined to send the case to criminal trial, saying there was not enough evidence.
According to Taiwanese media outlets including ETtoday, a woman identified as A, who runs a skin and beauty salon in Tainan, filed a rape complaint last December, alleging that she was sexually assaulted by a male customer identified as B while performing a waxing treatment.
A claimed that during the procedure, B became aroused and forcibly assaulted her on the treatment bed even after she said she did not consent.
A's husband and an acquaintance, who entered the salon at the time of the incident, saw both of them naked. Her husband, enraged, assaulted B at the scene, and B reportedly grabbed his clothes and left immediately.
During the investigation, A said, "I could not scream or resist actively because I thought I would be beaten or my life would be in danger if I resisted." She also submitted a psychiatric diagnosis and counseling records, saying she had been diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the incident.
B, however, consistently denied the allegations and claimed that "it was consensual sex."
Prosecutors said they could not rule out the possibility that the encounter had been consensual, citing the absence of physical signs of resistance, such as torn clothing, and the fact that witnesses did not directly see an assault or hear a call for help. They therefore decided not to indict, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove a crime.
Unhappy with the decision, A asked the court to allow a private prosecution, a legal action initiated by an individual. She argued that prosecutors had failed to properly consider that sexual violence victims may freeze or be unable to resist because of extreme fear.
She also stressed that her husband and acquaintance saw B looking extremely flustered immediately after the incident, and that her psychiatric treatment and counseling records also supported her claim. She asked the court to overturn the decision not to indict.
However, the Tainan District Court said that, taken together, the witnesses' statements confirmed that the two had sex and were later discovered by the husband. Still, it said it was difficult to prove whether B used force or whether the sex took place against A's will.
The court also said the psychiatric diagnosis and counseling records were largely based on A's own statements after the fact, and that it was difficult to conclude that her emotional distress was necessarily caused by sexual assault.
In the end, the court rejected the request for permission to file a private prosecution, saying the evidence currently submitted was not sufficient to establish a reasonable probability of guilt. The ruling cannot be appealed further, and if the case proceeds as it stands, B is expected to be acquitted and A could face a false accusation complaint.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
