Kuo Yu-ling (
Still, Kuo refused to name the person who instructed her to set up elaborate surveillance operations of Chu.
Police have uncovered phone taps and hidden cameras in Chu's home, car and former office at Hsinchu's Bureau of Cultural Affairs. Chu's mobile phone was also tapped.
Meanwhile, Chinese-language media reported yesterday that former Hsinchu mayor Tsai Jen-chien (
Reports quoted unnamed sources as saying Tsai gave Chu roughly NT$10 million in cash. He also bought her a Hsinchu home worth NT$8 million.
Tsai had tried to take back the gifts after the couple broke up, but Chu refused, the report said.
Prosecutors have refused to comment on the reports. They are expected to summon Tsai for questioning today.
As early as May, Tsai had asked Kuo to hire detectives to follow Chu, the report said.
The surveillance began to expand after Tsai discovered that Chu had been meeting with other men, the report said.
A detective agency in Hsinchu has confirmed that Tsai introduced them to Kuo. Kuo asked the agency to install surveillance and eavesdropping devices in Chu's house, office and car.
But the report said it was unlikely Tsai sold the sex-video footage to illegal video vendors.
The surveillance plan likely spun out of control after Kuo sold the video to vendors, the report said.
The VCDs started appearing on roadside stands as early as October.
Prosecutors have confirmed that the copy of a 40-minute sex video obtained and distributed by Scoop Weekly earlier this month was not the original master copy.
Prosecutors are also said to be looking into reports that Kuo may posses secret bank accounts where she keeps more than NT$5 million gained from the sale of the sex video footage.
Several VCD companies have confirmed that Kuo contacted them and tried to sell them the footage at prices as high as NT$3 million. Kuo may also have gained "royalty" payments from vendors, the report said.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS