Taichung: The Taiwan High Court Taichung Branch Court has upheld a prison sentence of one year and six months for a man convicted of forgery following his marriage to a high school student who had recently inherited NT$500 million (US$15.28 million).
According to Focus Taiwan, the high court dismissed the appeal by the defendant, Hsia, and affirmed the Taichung District Court's ruling, marking the decision as final and not subject to further appeal. In June 2024, the district court found Hsia guilty of "causing a civil servant to make a false entry in public records." The court determined that Hsia's marriage to the high school student, surnamed Lai, was not genuine and was motivated by self-interest, as he exploited the 18-year-old, undermining the integrity of the marriage system.
In January 2023, Lai received properties valued at NT$500 million from his father. Hsia, who worked as an assistant to his father, a land administration agent, was present during the contract signing. Following Lai's father's death in April of that year, Lai faced inheritance disputes with his father's spouse.
On May 4, Hsia proposed a meeting with Lai to discuss his property and financial matters, under the pretense that getting married would help Lai avoid inheritance disputes. There was no evidence suggesting Hsia's father knew of this plan, and no relationship was known to exist between Lai and Hsia prior to the marriage.
Tragically, two hours after the marriage, Lai fell from the building where Hsia lived and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Initial investigations by prosecutors did not find enough evidence to charge Hsia with murder. However, after an appeal from Lai's family, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office Taichung Branch directed the district prosecutors office to continue the investigation, which remains ongoing.