Man who used robot vacuum to record wife’s affair wins lawsuit but is still jailed

An incredible chain of events

As reported by local media in Taiwan, a recently released court ruling disclosed that the man got married in 2021, and the couple lived with his parents and only visited their holiday home during holidays.

As per South China Morning Post, the man’s identity remains confidential.

How the man started to suspect of an affair is when he discovered a used toothbrush at the holiday home in September 2023, as per local media.

Following that discovery, he identified an unknown man who had previously driven his wife home, as he reviewed surveillance footage from a parking garage.

Robotic vacuum cleaner on wood floor in modern living room (Image: Adobe Stock)

How the man used a robot vacuum cleaner to record

The husband three months later remotely activated the home’s robot vacuum cleaner via its mobile application, planning to use its built-in audio feature to communicate with his wife.

But the live feed instead captured his wife in an intimate encounter with another man.

He started to record the footage as he was then seeking evidence for a legal claim.

In the footage, his wife was seen changing clothes, embracing her alleged lover, and moving around the house unclothed, while her partner was seen lying on the sofa.

The husband then used the videos as evidence to sue his wife and her lover for infringing on his marital rights, seeking NT$2 million (US$68,000) in damages in the process.

Following the footage, the court determined that their relationship had surpassed the limits of ordinary friendship and ordered the pair to pay the husband NT$500,000 in compensation.

This civil victory, however, did not protect the husband from legal repercussions regarding how the evidence was obtained.

Stock image (Adobe)

Subsequently the wife counter-sued and accused him of recording private footage without her consent.

According to the man, the footage had already been accepted by the civil court and his actions were “legally justified.”

The court rejected his defence nonetheless, as it ruled that marital obligations do not supersede an individual’s right to privacy, determining that the recording was deliberate.

Secretly recording or disclosing another person’s private activities or intimate information without authorisation can result in a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to NT$300,000, under the laws in Taiwan.