Taipei - A Taiwan man, whose tongue was bitten off by the women he tried to rape, has been sentenced to six years in prison, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Lee Tang-hsiang, 35, attacked the woman in 2008 in Chiayi City in central Taiwan and was sentenced on Friday in Chiayi District Court on a conviction for attempted rape, the Apple Daily said.

On October 17, Lee was riding his motorbike about 4 am in Chiayi when he saw the woman on a motor-ped. Lee, whose criminal record includes previous sex crimes and drug use, rode alongside the victim, pulled her blouse and skirt and eventually caused her to fall off her motorbike.

Lee jumped on top of the woman, held her down and forced his tongue into her mouth. She bit off his tongue, spat it out and ran to the nearest police station.

Lee jumped on his motorbike and raced home.

Police found about 2.5 centimetres of Lee's severed tongue and alerted hospitals in Chiayi. A few hours later, one hospital reported a man seeking treatment for a severed tongue.

Police arrested Lee six hours after the incident, but it was too late to reattach the severed appendage. His wound was treated, but he cannot speak clearly and has lost most of the ability to taste. (dpa)