A Tapei prosecutors' task force investigating the release of a VCD allegedly showing a former city councillor having sex has deemed it a criminal case.
"We decided this was a criminal case and we will invite investigators from the Bureau of Investigation to join us beginning next week," said Lin Jinn-tsun (
The VCD, released with the latest edition of Scoop Weekly (
According to investigators, an anonymous tip received by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office alleged that the person who shot the bedroom scene with a pinhole camera is a close female friend of Chu, surnamed Kuo (郭).
A twisted tale
Sources say that Kuo is an instructor at a spiritual growth organization, Avatar, and that Kuo was teacher for a class that Chu enrolled in there.
"Prosecutor Lu Hsiao-yuan (
Prosecutors suspect the student and teacher may have been involved in a romantic or financial dispute, and will summon Kuo for questioning to clarify her role.
But when Hsinchu City Mayor Tsai Jen-chien (蔡仁堅), previously Chu's boyfriend, was informed that Kuo might be a suspect in the case, he panned the rumor, saying that he believed Kuo to be incapable of such an act.
His statement, however, appears to be at odds with statements made earlier by Chu, who claimed several days ago that besides herself, only Tsai and Kuo have keys to her apartment, where the video was secretly taped.
Further, Chu reported to the police that she had received a number of threatening messages on her mobile phone before the Scoop Weekly issue and accompanying VCD went on sale. Police later discovered that these phone calls were made from a location near Tsai's residence.
The police are now seeking to clarify the relationship between Tsai, Kuo and Chu.
In related news, investigations by police and media outlets have reportedly prompted several of those involved in the case to seek protection from gangsters, an unnamed police source revealed yesterday morning.
The source said, however, that their requests have been turned down.
Further, the officer said, some people involved in the case have contradicted themselves in public statements and that investigators are confident that a breakthrough in the case will be made over the next few days.
Avatar, where Kuo is an instructor, has been in existence for 20 years and was introduced to Taiwan from the US around four years ago.
"The Avatar course is a series of experiential exercises that enables you to rediscover yourself and align your consciousness with what you want to achieve. You will experience your own unique insights and revelations," according to a Web page published by Star's Edge Internationale -- Avatar's parent company.
A criminal case
The case has been coded "chen" (
After the raids on Scoop Weekly magazine's five printing plants in Taipei County on Wednesday, prosecutors said that when the magazine gave away the VCDs, it may have violated Article 235 of the Criminal Code, which makes the distribution or sale of indecent material illegal.
The prosecutors said the magazine may also have violated Article 315-2, which makes the violation of a person's privacy for profit illegal. Chu and Tseng were filmed using a pinhole camera at her apartment.
"Scoop Weekly did not send the VCD to the Government Information Office (GIO,
"Also, they knew that the VCD allegedly depicts a sexual encounter between the former New Party Taipei city councilor Chu Mei-feng and her married lover Tseng Chung-ming before they distributed the magazines and VCDs. But they still sold the magazines and gave away the VCDs."
"If Kuo refuses to be interviewed, we will probably ask for a warrant and arrest her for further investigation if necessary," the prosecutor said.
Su Tzen-ping (
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