Taiwan company chairman has to pay man S$32,489 for having affair with his wife

A court in Taiwan has ordered a man to pay his lover's husband NT$800,000 (S$32,489) in damages and bear most of the litigation costs after his lover's husband discovered their intimate chat records and filed a lawsuit.

His lover's husband had initially sought NT$1 million (S$40,612) in damages, citing emotional distress.

The man is said to be the chairman of a technology company in Taipei, ETtoday reported, adding that the court recently ruled that his affair had seriously violated spousal rights.

Knowingly pursued married woman

This comes after the chairman pursued his lover when they met at the end of 2024 despite knowing she was a married woman.

ETtoday reported that the two then quickly developed a close relationship where they dated frequently and even spent multiple nights together.

In January 2025, they had sexual intercourse multiple times, and the chairman arranged for his lover to travel abroad and spend the night with him.

However, prior to this, the woman and her husband got married in 2022 and were still married at the time of her affair.

Intimate LINE chats

On top of that, the court's judgement revealed that according to LINE chat records provided by the woman's husband, their online interactions were extremely intimate, repeatedly involving sexual innuendo and private topics.

The chairman also sent the woman his business card and a selfie, which the court used to confirm his identity.

Laws

The chairman argued that spousal rights are not legally protected rights and denied that he was the person in the chat log. The court did not accept his argument.

In addition, the court determined that his relationship with his lover constituted a serious infringement as it had gone far beyond the scope of ordinary friends.

The court also noted that though adultery has been decriminalised, spouses should still uphold the duty of fidelity, and the institution of marriage should be protected by civil law.

ETtoday reported that according to current laws in Taiwan, a spouse can still seek compensation through civil litigation if their rights have been seriously violated.

In this case, since the couple's behaviour included multiple sexual encounters, travelling together and spending the night together, this constitutes an infringement as it caused significant emotional trauma to the husband.

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