Twu and his accuser face off at KTV

The Ministry of Justice ordered an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), the acting head of the Department of Health (DOH), yesterday after Twu came face to face with his accuser.

The man, Cheng Ko-jung (鄭可榮), revealed his identity for the first time as he showed reporters around the Cashbox KTV parlor where he alleges the harassment occurred.

With help of PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安), Cheng held a press conference at the Legislative Yuan yesterday afternoon to give his side of the events of Aug. 6, when, he and Lee allege, Twu kissed him and licked his ear. Lee, who told reporters Wednesday that she might ask "the victim," to "tell the story himself if necessary," said that Cheng "feels that it is time he did so."

After the conference, Cheng, his wife and Lee went to Cashbox KTV's Sungkiang branch for illustrating details of the case. Twu also arrived at the KTV to confront Cheng.

In front of a crowd of journalists, with many waiting outside, unable to enter the crowded premises, Cheng insisted that Twu had kissed him on the face at least four times and licked his ear. Twu denied Cheng's accusations and said that he had not visited a KTV parlor since the beginning of this year. Later yesterday, Twu held a press conference announcing that he had filed a libel suit against Cheng and Lee.

According to Cheng, a friend, surnamed Ding, called him around 8pm on Aug. 6 this year and invited him to attend a party at the KTV. He neither confirmed nor denied that the party was being held to celebrate Twu's promotion to the post of acting secretary-general of the DOH. He added that, before the party, "I didn't even know who Twu was."

Cheng, 32 and the proprietor of a dumpling restaurant, said he arrived at the KTV at approximately 10pm that evening. Ding started to introduce him to everybody at the party, including Twu.

"Ding was the only guy I knew there. I can't remember exactly how many people were present. Probably 11 or 12," Cheng said.

Cheng said that during the party he returned from the restroom to find Twu "guarding" the door of the private room in which the party was being held.

"He told me that I was not allowed to enter the room unless he kissed me," Cheng said. "This was the first time he kissed me. After that, he kissed me another three or four times."

Cheng said that he felt this was "inappropriate," but that Twu then sat down next to him. As they chatted, he said, Twu suddenly licked his ear, which made him uncomfortable.

"I asked him to stop and he did," he said. "I told him I was not gay."

"I would suggest that both parties take a polygraph test," said Lee.

Lee said that Cheng had passed her "all the evidence" to prove his allegations. Asked what this consisted of, however, she said, "I can't tell you."

Lee, Cheng and his wife left for the KTV immediately after the press conference. Twu arrived at the Legislative Yuan seconds after their departure, announcing to assembled reporters that he had come "to confront them," before leaving for the KTV himself.

Vice Minister of Justice Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) later announced that "since Cheng has identified himself" in public, Premier Yu Shyi-kun phoned Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) and asked him to order prosecutors to begin their investigation.

"When the case was first made public on Oct. 1, we didn't have a name of the alleged victim so we couldn't do anything.