Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Claimed spiritual healing or mediumship Xindian, New Taipei, Taiwan · 2026

Taiwan: shrine master convicted of indecent assault committed under the guise of an exorcism

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

shrine master (宮主) of a folk-religion shrine

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The court found expressly that the defendant used his standing as shrine master to make the devotee believe the contact was part of the ritual she had come to him for — the religious authority is what produced her compliance.

  • Exorcism or deliverance
  • Spiritual healing or treatment
  • Other spiritual authority or belief

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-07-02 · conviction and sentence

    Taiwanese district court, New Taipei. A shrine master surnamed Zeng, who operated the Jingxin-fu shrine, was convicted of indecent assault by abuse of authority after luring a female devotee upstairs on the claim that she was severely possessed and required a private exorcism, then groping her while describing the contact as acupressure. He was sentenced to seven months. The court found he had exploited his status as shrine master so that the victim believed the acts were ritual and endured them.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • claim that the devotee was severely possessed and required a private exorcism
  • assault reframed to the victim as acupressure within the ritual

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report '假驅邪真猥褻！宮主碰觸女信徒…判刑7月', Liberty Times (Taiwan), 2026.

Taiwanese paper of record reporting the conviction, the sentence, and the court's finding on the exorcism pretext.

Related record

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