Taipei (The China Post/ANN) - The trial of entertainer Makiyo began at the Taipei District Court yesterday. Makiyo and her friend Takateru Tomoyori were indicted by the prosecutors for aggravated assault for attacking Lin Yu-chun, a taxi driver.
Makiyo admitted assaulting Lin but denied the charge of aggravated assault. Makiyo claimed to be drunk when the incident happened and denied that she asked Yaz and Vanessa, local female entertainers and Makiyo's friends, to attack the driver.
Hsu Ling-zhu, Makiyo's lawyer, maintained that the conflict arose from the fact that Makiyo and her friends did not fasten their seat belts, and the fact that the driver might have over-defended himself.
Takateru Tomoyori also claimed to be drunk but denied attempting to commit aggravated assault and denied stopping the driver from calling the police. Tomoyori expressed remorse for the incident, saying that he is willing to compensate Lin for his losses and be punished by law.
Lin's lawyer asked Tomoyori whether he has learned martial arts before and whether Tomoyori is a "killing machine."
The driver's lawyer maintained that Makiyo and Tomoyori should be indicted for attempted murder after Makiyo and Tomoyori were indicted for aggravated assault by the prosecutors.
Hsu stated that Makiyo needs to support her family, but is still willing to pay NT$2 million (US$68,000) for Lin.
