Taipei - A Taiwan university student is serioulsy reconsidering the relationship with her boyfriend as he failed to catch the girl after persuading her to leap from a second-floor window for a late-night tryst, press reports said Tuesday.

The student was left wheelchair-bound with broken ankles, and has become the laughing stock of her university, the China Times newspaper and two television stations reported.

The incident occurred on October 20 at Chungyuan University near Taipei, but became known only recently after students at the university began to discuss it on the internet.

According the reports, the girl and the boy, identified only by their surnames Chen and Su, are both Chungyuan University students.

That fateful night, Su asked Chen to meet him, she could not leave her dormitory as the female students' dorm is locked by 11 pm every night for their safety.

Chen's bedroom is on the second floor, about 5 metres above ground. Su urged her to jump down, promising to catch her in his arms.

But when Chen leapt, Su chickened out and stepped back, causing her to hit the ground, fracturing her ankles.

This "Romeo and Juliet" incident triggered a heated debate on the internet, with some users blaming "Romeo" for being a coward while others calling "Juliet" naive.

One user said that the idea of Juliet leaping into Romeo's arms is romantic, but it may have been better for Juliet to climb down the help of a rope.