A Filipino energy exec is on trial for choking, biting and sexually abusing his much younger Korean girlfriend on a New York holiday — but his lawyers insist she only complained to cops because of “buyer’s remorse” over her choice of beau.
Manhattan prosecutor Hannah Yu told jurors that 37-year-old Terence Tang, who runs Tang International Enterprises, showered his 24-year-old lover with gifts and extravagant trips — but also hit her during their tumultuous three-month courtship.
The victim, who flew in from Korea for the trial, testified Wednesday that he occasionally texted her on WhatsApp that he wanted to bite her.
“How did you respond?” asked the prosecutor.
She replied with a laughter symbol because “in the beginning, I thought he was joking,” she said through a Korean interpreter in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The young woman, who looked nervous, said that Tang “couldn’t control himself” when he was drunk. She’s expected to return to the stand Thursday to testify about the alleged Oct. 26, 2017, assault.
Prosecutors say that after a night of drinking on the Upper East Side, she performed oral sex on Tang, then he “pinned her down with his arm,” forcibly put his fingers inside her, “grabbed her neck, briefly choking her, slapped her in the face and bit her.”
Trembling and crying, she fled to the bathroom of their Airbnb rental at 352 W. 46th St. and texted a pal in Vancouver, where she was living at the time, “Please save me!” Yu said.
The friend called cops, who arrived and discovered Tang fast asleep in bed. Photos of her injuries show a red bite mark on her hip and several old yellow and purple bruises on her arms.
Responding officer Maris Garcia testified that the victim never told cops that she had been choked and claimed that the bruises were from him slapping her on prior nights.
But defense lawyer Todd Spodek said that the victim wanted the financial perks of the relationship and just balked over the kinky sex.
“This is a case about regret, buyer’s remorse — about [the victim] regretting the choices that she made and not having the future she expected with Mr. Tang,” he said.
She and Tang met at a party in Vancouver, and went back to his room at the Westin hotel that night. Soon after, they rented an apartment together.
The couple continued to chat on WhatsApp, and in early Oct. 2017, the smitten international businessman flew her to Hawaii for a week-long vacation, where she claims he first slapped her.
Tang, who’s charged with sex abuse, misdemeanor assault and obstruction of breathing, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count.
