Weed users beware: it may be a wise time to drop your unlawful hobby because the hunt is on for secret tokers. The long arm of the law has already caught up with a group of pop star suspects, which could spell the end of their careers.
The saga began with a successful police raid on a luxury apartment in Taipei last month that uncovered a marijuana growing operation. Police trawled the phone records of the people involved and turned up the names of alleged buyers including TV show hosts Tuo Tsung-kang (庹宗康), Chu Chung-heng (屈中恆) and the paparazzi's favorite prey Suzanne Hsiao (蕭淑慎).
After first denying the charge, Tuo and Chu held press conferences on Sunday, admitting they had smoked joints out of curiosity once but hadn't scored off the apartment's owner. Cracking under the pressure of intense media scrutiny, the pair blubbered on screen and issued apologies, the move, however, failed to prevent them from being booted off most of the TV shows they hosted and losing lucrative product endorsements.
Police said urine tests indicate that three suspects had consumed cannabis within the last two months but declined to make public their names. More accurate results, taken from hair samples, will come out next week.
In the meantime, the entertainment clique closed ranks with several celebrities voicing support for the accused. "Is smoking pot really such a serious crime?" asked ABT pop star Stanley Huang (黃立行), who later watered down his comments by advising dope smokers to respect the law here and only smoke in places where their pastime is legal.
Another ABT stud Wang Lee-hom (王力宏), on the other hand, always knows how to play it safe with his squeaky clean image, which has earned him endorsement and contract fees this year totaling some NT$288 million. Wang reigns supreme at the top of the Chinese-language media's list of top pop singer earners. Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) came in second with NT$285 million, while her ex-lover Chairman Chou (周董) flagged behind with NT$240 million.
Though it's been three years since Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒) released her last record, the former Mando-pop queen is attempting to reclaim her title with a new album, 1087, set for release on Dec. 22.
As a warm-up before the big day, Hsiao gave a sweaty performance at the Channel V-organized concert at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium (中山足球場) last Saturday. To make sure she could hog all the limelight, Hsiao arranged to perform with her past rumored lovers Edison Chen (陳冠希) and Stanley Huang. And guess what, the tactic worked as the man magnet's previous flings dominated gossip rags the next day.
Thanks to advances in aesthetic medicine, age-resistant Carina Lau (劉嘉玲) looked fresh and dazzling when celebrating her 42-year-old birthday last week, first with her entrepreneur friend Jack Sun (孫道存) and later with her "good friend" [a code name for rumored lover] Chinese actor Hu Jun (胡軍), while her decade-long sweetheart Tony Leung (梁朝偉) has lost nearly 10kg shooting Ang Lee's (李安) Lust, Caution (色戒) and is too busy to buy her a proper gift.
Perhaps Leung, who was once romantically linked to Maggie Cheung (張曼玉) during his relationship with Lau, is the best present himself as the poised star is reportedly never troubled by Lau's rumored flings with her numerous pursuers.
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