Taiwanese Director Doze Niu Appeals Against Guilty Verdict In Sexual Assault Case, Claims The Victim “Did Not Say No”

Taiwanese director Doze Niu was sentenced to four years in prison after he was found guilty of sexual assault back in April. When the sentence was read out, the 53-year-old expressed his intention to appeal the verdict, and his reasons behind the appeal were revealed on May 28.

Before we get into his claims, here’s a recap of what happened: in November 2018, a female staff member of a movie he was working on accused him of sexual assault after attending a gathering in his house. Doze admitted that he made advances towards her, but claimed that the victim was aware of his attentions and did not reject him outright. Doze added that he liked the unnamed woman romantically.

But prosecutors argued that she gave clear signs that she was unwilling to accept his advances because she had turned her head and pushed herself away from the director when he initiated physical intimacy with her. There was also DNA evidence of sexual assault. The judge then found him guilty of the crime.