TAIPEI • Acclaimed Taiwanese director Doze Niu has been charged with sexually assaulting a female crew member who was working on his latest film Pao Ma.
In a statement announcing the charge, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office accused him of trying to avoid responsibility "by downplaying his actions and insinuating that the woman is partially to blame".
He faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.
The alleged assault occurred on Nov 24 following a meeting at his home in Taipei when other guests had left. A friend later accompanied the woman to a hospital and filed a police report.
Niu, who spoke to reporters in December after he was questioned by police, said: "I have faith and hope that there will be a fair trial.
"But there is another public trial going on now and I have already been handed a death sentence."
The child actor-turned-director became famous when gangster film Monga won two Golden Horse Awards in 2010.
Niu previously hit the headlines in 2014, when he was fined and handed a suspended sentence for taking a Chinese cinematographer to a naval base in Taiwan without authorisation to scout film locations for his movie Paradise In Service.
Taiwan has a ban on Chinese nationals entering military facilities.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
