Man catches wife’s affair using robot vacuum, wins $20k lawsuit but gets 5-month jail term
A man in Taiwan used a robot vacuum to catch his wife having an affair and won NT$500,000 (about S$20,000) in compensation — only to get into legal trouble himself over how he obtained the evidence.
The unnamed man was sentenced to five months’ jail for unlawfully recording intimate images of his wife without her consent, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
His sentence can be converted to a NT$150,000 (about S$6,000) fine, and the ruling can still be appealed, Taiwanese news outlet NextApple reported.
A toothbrush sparks suspicion
The couple married in 2021 and lived with the man’s parents, visiting a holiday home in Guishan, Taoyuan, on their days off.
In September 2023, the husband, whose identity remains confidential, became suspicious after finding a toothbrush and other belongings at the holiday home that appeared to belong to another man.
He then checked surveillance footage from the property’s carpark and spotted an unfamiliar man driving his wife there and staying overnight, according to NextApple.
On Dec 24 that year, the husband remotely activated a robot vacuum at the holiday home using a mobile app, initially intending to use the device’s communication function to speak to his wife.
However, the vacuum’s live camera feed showed another man inside the home.
The husband then switched on the recording function to gather evidence of what he suspected was an affair.
According to NextApple, the footage showed his wife embracing the man, changing clothes in front of him and walking around naked, while the man was also seen lying on the sofa.
Wins NT$500,000 from wife and lover
Armed with the footage, the husband sued his wife and the other man for infringing on his marital rights, seeking NT$2 million in damages.
A civil court found that the pair’s relationship had gone beyond the boundaries of an ordinary friendship and ordered them to jointly pay him NT$500,000, reported SCMP.
His wife subsequently filed a counter suit against him for recording her without her consent.
The husband admitted making the recording but argued that he had done so to protect his marital rights and gather evidence of infidelity.
He also pointed out that the footage had been accepted as evidence in the civil case.
Court says being married does not erase right to privacy
The district court rejected his defence.
According to NextApple, the court said that although spouses owe each other a duty of fidelity, this does not mean either spouse gives up their right to privacy.
The judge found that the wife still had a reasonable expectation of privacy inside the home, particularly when she was naked.
It also noted that the husband had deliberately activated the recording function only after seeing another man in the house, meaning the footage was not captured accidentally.
The husband argued that the robot vacuum could emit lights or voice alerts while operating, which could have alerted his wife to its presence.
However, the court found there was insufficient evidence that she knew she was being recorded, much less that she had consented to it.
The court also clarified that his criminal conviction centred on intimate footage recorded on Dec 24, in which his wife was naked. Other recordings of the pair interacting on different dates did not form part of the conviction as she was not naked in those clips.
The husband was sentenced to five months’ jail for unlawfully recording another person’s intimate images. The term can be converted to a NT$150,000 fine at a rate of NT$1,000 per day.
The unusual case has sparked debate online, with SCMP reporting that some netizens sympathised with the husband while others said evidence of infidelity still had to be obtained legally.
One commenter summed up the husband’s predicament: “He lost his marriage and also his freedom.”
*This article was produced with AI assistance.
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