Police accuse rock band members of gang raping young woman in Sungshan

Two members of the five-man rock band "The Chairman" (董事長樂團), Wu Yung-chi (吳永吉), and Tu Wen-hsiang (杜文祥), along with a friend, surnamed Tsou (鄒), will be charged for allegedly sexually harassing and gang raping a young woman on the morning of Jan. 30, police at the Taipei Municipal Police Department said yesterday.

According to the police, a young woman was found crying in front of a police station in Taipei's Sungshan district on the morning of Jan. 30. Upon learning of the alleged rape, police immediately sent the victim to Adventist Hospital (台安醫院) for medical treatment.

Police said that the victim, a hostess at a bar in Taipei, was invited to a hotel room by the two members of the band, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Wu, 31, and solo guitarist and vocalist Tu, also 31, along with their friend Tsou around at 4am on Jan. 30. While drinking in the room, the three allegedly stripped the girl and forced her to perform oral sex on each of them. She was later gang raped by them.

The three yesterday said that they were innocent and that the woman was actually Tsou's girlfriend. "She lied to the police in order to take revenge on Tsou for fighting with her that night," the band members claimed.

Although the victim later confirmed the band members' story, after examining related evidence, police said yesterday that they believed the victim was indeed raped and planned to submit the case to the court.

According to the police, the victim may have already reached a private settlement with the three and may want to drop the case. "The victim can even identify physical characteristics of each of the three," police said.

"The Chairman," formed in 1997, is one of Taiwan's most popular rock bands. The band's previous lead singer, Ho Kuan-yu (何冠宇) died of leukemia on Sept. 22 at the age of 31.