A man met a woman through a dating app. However, before their agreed meeting, the woman requested the man to transfer money and pay for a taxi ride. In the end, she didn't show up, and the man took her to court. The court initially sentenced the woman to 10 days in jail or a fine as an alternative, but the woman appealed. Ultimately, the court acquitted the woman due to insufficient evidence.
According to a report by "ETtoday News Cloud," the woman, Huang, and the man, Chen, met through a dating app in 2023. They planned to meet on October 7 of the same year in Zhongli, Taoyuan, Taiwan. At that time, Huang claimed that she was in Taipei and did not have money for transportation, asking Chen to pay in advance.
Chen then transferred 400 yuan (approximately 57 MYR) to Huang's bank account and also used LINE Pay to call a taxi on her behalf, paying 293 yuan (approximately 42 MYR) for the fare, totaling 693 yuan (approximately 99 MYR). However, after making the payments, Huang never showed up, leading Chen to suspect he was scammed, and he filed a lawsuit against her.
In court, the prosecution determined that Huang never had any intention to meet and that her request for a transportation fee constituted fraud. Huang was ultimately sentenced to 10 days of detention, with the option to pay a fine of 1,000 yuan (approximately 144 MYR) per day instead.
However, Huang appealed. The collegial court found that Huang had indeed gone out that night but canceled the meeting halfway through due to the late hour and concerns for her safety while going out alone. She later contacted Chen, expressing her willingness to refund the money, but Chen had already reported to the police and refused mediation.
Though Chen claimed that Huang had admitted to "fraud," he was unable to provide communication records as his phone was damaged. The court deemed that the current evidence was only based on one-sided statements and lacked sufficient corroboration to prove that Huang had actively used fraudulent methods, failing to meet the threshold for criminal conviction.
The judge concluded that Huang's actions at most constituted a breach of agreement or a civil dispute and should not be treated as a criminal offense. Therefore, the original judgment was overturned, and Huang was acquitted, though the verdict is still subject to appeal.