TAIPEI • Four Singaporean men were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping two Taiwanese women here.

The men, all 23 years old, were identified only by their surnames - Lim, Ong, Tan and Lau.

While they have not been charged, three of them - Ong, Tan and Lau - are being held in custody for further questioning, while Lim has been released on NT$15,000 (S$670) bail.

Believed to be university students, the men were on holiday in Taipei and had befriended the women on a dating app before all of them spent last Sunday night together at a club.

All four men, who were said to be planning to leave for Singapore on Tuesday, were arrested by police at the Ximen subway station in Taipei's Ximending shopping district. They had their luggage with them when they were arrested, the prosecutor's office told The Straits Times (ST).

While it was reported that officials from the Singapore Trade Office based in Taipei have tried to contact the men, it declined to comment when contacted by ST.

All four have reportedly claimed that sex with the two women was consensual.

If convicted of rape, they face up to 10 years in jail each.

Jermyn Chow