‘Monga’ Director Doze Niu Charged With Forced Sex

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Leading Taiwan film director, Doze Niu (aka Niu Chen-zer) has been charged with forced sexual intercourse. If found guilty, he faces a jail term of between three and ten years.

The alleged incident occurred in November last year, during the shooting of Niu’s current film project “Pao Ma.” Following evenings drinks at his home with crew, Niu is alleged to have forced himself on a female crew member. She reported the incident to police the next day.

When the allegations became public knowledge in December, Niu denied assault. He said that the liaison had been consensual, and that the two had been in a romantic relationship. Niu was set free on bail, but not allowed to leave . He has made no public comment since the formal charges.

In a statement on Friday, the Taipei Prosecutors Office said that Niu had showed neither regret, nor understanding of the gravity of the impact of sexual assault. The prosecutor also said that Niu had attempted to deflect the blame, and had that Niu had suggested that the woman was partially at fault.

In December, Niu said that he had already been tried and found guilty by the media. “There is another public trial going on now and I have already been handed a death sentence,” he said, in December. “ is dead.”

Taiwanese and other Asian media have published accounts of Niu’s behavior towards other women. They suggested that Niu had abused his position as director to pressure actresses Janine Chang and Shu Qi into unnecessary nudity.

Actress, Ke Huan-ru used Facebook to recount allegations of inappropriate behavior during the shooting of a bedroom scene in 2007 film “What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?,” in which Niu was both director and the male star. The scene was not used in the final version of the film.

Niu, a child star who later turned director, hit the big time with 2010 gangster drama “Monga.” The film picked up multiple prizes at the Golden Horse Awards, Asian Film Awards and at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival.

In 2014, he was found guilty of taking a Chinese national onto a Taiwanese naval base, during the preparation of “Paradise in Service.” He was fined and given a suspended jail service.