Taiwan military officer jailed for rape of Indonesian maid

(MENAFN- Asia Times) A Taiwan military officer was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison on Monday after being found guilty on two separate counts of rape of an Indonesian domestic worker in the northwestern city of Taoyuan.

The first assault occurred in December 2012 after the officer, surnamed Tong, left Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, where his wife was receiving treatment. He raped the domestic worker, who had been hired to take care of his wife, on a car, China Daily News reported.

In January 2013, Tong raped the worker again at home after praying for his bedridden wife. He ordered the worker not to tell anyone about the incidents as his wife would sue her.

The maid ran away after the second rape but returned to work for the couple due to financial difficulties, Taiwan Apple Daily reported. She was again forced to have sex with Tong on the day that his wife's body was cremated.

The maid did not report the sexual assaults to the police and returned to her home country. However, on learning she had become pregnant, she decided to inform the Taiwanese police.

Tong told the court that he did not believe he had committed rape as he treated the victim as his girlfriend. The High Court judge rejected Tong's plea and criticized him for abusing his authority as an employer and showing no regret for his actions.

In convicting Tong on only two counts of sexual assault, the judge said he did not consider the third incident of sexual intercourse to be rape due to their close relationship at that time, taking into account that the worker had received gifts from Tong before the third incident.

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