Li & Anor v Chen
[2026] QDC 111 · Porter KC DCJ
This case assessed compensation for two young people, boyfrienf and girlfriend at the time, who were drugged by an older man, Steven Chen, after he lured them to his home in January 2019. Chen dropped the male plaintiff at a park in a drugged state and then raped the female plaintiff.
He was later criminally convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. Both plaintiffs, who were students in their early twenties at the time, developed post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Because Chen did not defend the civil claim, the court only had to decide how much compensation each plaintiff should receive.
The judge awarded the female plaintiff around $435,000 and the male plaintiff around $289,000, covering general damages, past and future economic loss, treatment costs, and additional aggravated damages for the humiliation and distress they suffered. The judge declined to award exemplary (punishment) damages, finding that the criminal sentence already served that purpose.
The heads of damage contained on this page apply to the female plaintiff only - see the full judgment for both plaintiff awards.
Incident & injury
Plaintiff was drugged with a stupefying drug and raped by the defendant after being lured to his home; defendant later pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of administering a stupefying drug
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Diagnoses
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, Major depressive disorder
- Incident date
- 20 January 2019
- Location
- Queensland (defendant's residence)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 15 July 2026
- Claim type
- Historical Abuse
- Proceeding
- Damages assessment
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 22
- Occupation
- Student (English language study; previously completed undergraduate degree in Taiwan) Student
- Liability
- Admitted
- ISV assessed
- 20 · Item 11, Schedule 3 (serious mental disorder), Civil Liability Regulation 2025 (Qld)
- Total damages
- $434,559
Outcome
Following default judgment on liability, the court assessed damages for trespass to the person against the defendant, who had been criminally convicted of rape and drugging offences. The first plaintiff (female) recovered $434,559 and the second plaintiff (male) recovered $289,091. The judgment did not particularise all heads of damage - the amount for future special damages was inferred from the total awarded to the first plaintiff.
Defendant
1 Steven Chiung Hsi Chen
Perpetrator / individual tortfeasor
- Judgment against this defendant
- $434,559
Heads of damage
| General damages | $38,200 |
|---|---|
| Past economic loss | $100,000 |
| Future loss of economic capacity | $150,000 |
| Future special damages | $86,359 |
| Aggravated damages | $60,000 |
Key issues
Li & Anor v Chen [2026] QDC 111
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