Taiwan man convicted with Google map help

A screenshot provided by Google shows the Google Maps Navigation app for Android phones. It shows directions in San Francisco with traffic conditions in yellow and green. AP/Google

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A Taiwanese judge has used a Google map showing an unleashed dog to hold a man responsible for his neighbor’s bicycle accident.

A defendant surnamed Lee denied being the dog’s owner and causing injury through negligence.

The victim surnamed Peng testified that he became scared after the dog began pursuing him while he was riding his bicycle last July. He said he fell off the bike and injured his forehead.

Judge Song Kuo-chen said Thursday that a two-year-old Google Street View picture showed the dog standing in Lee’s yard which meant that Lee was its owner. Police had earlier said there were no other dogs in the rural neighborhood in Miaoli County south of Taipei where Lee and the victim live.

The judge fined Lee 59,000 Taiwan dollars ($2,000).