ipoh-horfun
Well-Known Member
Justin Lee, the man at the centre of the most notorious sex scandal seen in Taiwan in years, has been sentenced to a total of 22 years and four months' jail on nine counts of non-consensual sex and 15 counts of privacy violation for filming himself having sex with multiple women including celebrities.
The 28-year-old socialite was found not guilty of more serious charges of aggravated rape by the panel of judges at the Taipei District Court, where the sentence was read out this morning, due to lack of evidence.
Lee was also ordered to pay NT$14.25 million (S$611,587) to 12 of his victims, who had sued him for a total of NT$75 million in damages.
Dressed in a black jacket and trousers and sporting a newly-shaved head, Lee looked relieved after the sentence was announced.
The one-time playboy could have been jailed for up to 30 years on 45 counts of rape, aggravated rape, and violation of privacy.
Lee's lawyer said he would appeal the sentence.
Prosecutors had initially sought a total of 209 years at the beginning of the trial last December, a record for sexual assault crimes in Taiwan history. They raised it to 266 years after Lee showed no remorse during the trial. Under Taiwan law, the maximum that Lee could serve was 30 years.
Lee, whose father Lee Yueh-tsang is a billionaire businessman, maintained that his 24 alleged victims had had sex with him willingly and would only admit to filming them without their consent. He offered to pay each of them NT$200,000 to settle the matter out of court.
The scandal broke in August last year after Next Magazine published an expose which alleged that the women involved included celebrities such as Maggie Wu, Terri Kwan, Bianca Bai and Ruru Lin.
Police said they began investigating Lee in July 2011 after a woman reported that she had been drugged, raped and filmed by Lee. Although that accusation was thrown out by the court for insufficient evidence, investigators uncovered clips of dozens women having sex with Lee.
Among them, six appeared to have been drugged; three were forced into the act; nine showed signs of resistance; and 10 women appeared to be delirious or unconscious.
Lee, who was often photographed having fun at nightclubs and was seen as a "golden bachelor", promptly went on the run, as photos and clips of the videos he allegedly made spread like wildfire on the Internet.
The most recognisable face, Maggie Wu, a 29-year-old model who had a months-long relationship with Lee five years ago, disappeared from public view and resumed work only four months later.
Lee evaded an islandwide manhunt for three weeks by seeking refuge at a friend's home in the western county of Changhua before surrendering himself to police.
The friend, 47-year-old insurance agent Chen Mei-lan, was sentenced to six months' jail last December for harbouring a suspected criminal despite claiming ignorance about Lee's wrongdoing.
The 28-year-old socialite was found not guilty of more serious charges of aggravated rape by the panel of judges at the Taipei District Court, where the sentence was read out this morning, due to lack of evidence.
Lee was also ordered to pay NT$14.25 million (S$611,587) to 12 of his victims, who had sued him for a total of NT$75 million in damages.
Dressed in a black jacket and trousers and sporting a newly-shaved head, Lee looked relieved after the sentence was announced.
The one-time playboy could have been jailed for up to 30 years on 45 counts of rape, aggravated rape, and violation of privacy.
Lee's lawyer said he would appeal the sentence.
Prosecutors had initially sought a total of 209 years at the beginning of the trial last December, a record for sexual assault crimes in Taiwan history. They raised it to 266 years after Lee showed no remorse during the trial. Under Taiwan law, the maximum that Lee could serve was 30 years.
Lee, whose father Lee Yueh-tsang is a billionaire businessman, maintained that his 24 alleged victims had had sex with him willingly and would only admit to filming them without their consent. He offered to pay each of them NT$200,000 to settle the matter out of court.
The scandal broke in August last year after Next Magazine published an expose which alleged that the women involved included celebrities such as Maggie Wu, Terri Kwan, Bianca Bai and Ruru Lin.
Police said they began investigating Lee in July 2011 after a woman reported that she had been drugged, raped and filmed by Lee. Although that accusation was thrown out by the court for insufficient evidence, investigators uncovered clips of dozens women having sex with Lee.
Among them, six appeared to have been drugged; three were forced into the act; nine showed signs of resistance; and 10 women appeared to be delirious or unconscious.
Lee, who was often photographed having fun at nightclubs and was seen as a "golden bachelor", promptly went on the run, as photos and clips of the videos he allegedly made spread like wildfire on the Internet.
The most recognisable face, Maggie Wu, a 29-year-old model who had a months-long relationship with Lee five years ago, disappeared from public view and resumed work only four months later.
Lee evaded an islandwide manhunt for three weeks by seeking refuge at a friend's home in the western county of Changhua before surrendering himself to police.
The friend, 47-year-old insurance agent Chen Mei-lan, was sentenced to six months' jail last December for harbouring a suspected criminal despite claiming ignorance about Lee's wrongdoing.
