Four Singaporean men, who were arrested in December, were charged with sexual assault on Thursday for allegedly raping two women in Taipei, the prosecutors said in Taiwan. According to Prosecutor Chen Hsi-chu, the four men are expected to appear in court within the next two days at the earliest, or next week. All four convicts, who have been identified only by their surnames: Lim, Ong, Tan and Lau, are aged 23.
The Straits Times quoted Chen as saying that Lau was an exchange student at a university in Taipei while the rest were visiting him. He added that on 11 December, the men had met the two women at a dance club. They contacted the girls later through Line, a social messaging app to invite them for drinks.
On 13 December, the police arrested those four men at the Ximen subway station in Taipei's Ximending shopping district. They had their luggage along with them as they were planning to leave for Singapore.
Reports said that the men have claimed that sex with the women was consensual. If convicted of rape, each of them might have to face up to 10 years of jail.
