Acting director-general of the Department of Health Twu Shiing-jer (
Twu was wrongly accused in early October of sexual harassment and is seeking compensation.
Twu's lawyer, Tsai Mao-sung (蔡茂松), arrived at the Taipei Prosecutors' Office yesterday afternoon and spoke on Twu's behalf.
Tsai said that Twu wanted PFP Legislator Yang Fu-mei (
Tsai has already named Cheng Ko-jung (
According to Tsai, after the case was first made public on Oct. 1, Yang held a press conference on Oct. 3 at the Legislative Yuan and said that a cleaning lady claimed to have witnessed Twu having sex with one of his female aides in his office. Twu was the director-general of the Center for Disease Control at the time of the alleged incident.
Evidence lacking
However, Yang failed to provide any evidence to support her accusations and speculation has been rife that the allegation was motivated by jealousy.
When the media pressed her on the allegations, Yang backpedalled and said the charges were "based on hearsay."
According to Tsai, Hsu is a businessman who sells sports gear. But when Hsu was interviewed by Taiwan Television Enterprise on Oct. 3, he claimed he was a doctor from National Taiwan University Hospital and was at the KTV parlor on Aug. 6 this year, when the alleged sexual harassment occurred.
During the interview, he said that Twu was at the scene but he didn't see Twu doing anything inappropriate.
Hsu was later interviewed by Taipei Chief Prosecutor Chuang Cheng (
"Both Yang's and Hsu's remarks have seriously damaged Twu's reputation. However, none of them apologized and admitted they were wrong, so Twu decided to sue them," Tsai said.
Twu's civil claim seeks a total of NT$50 million from Cheng, Lee and Ding.
NT$1 penalty
However, Twu said he understands that Chen cannot afford his share of this sum -- approximately NT$17 million. Since Cheng has apologized to him publicly on more than one occasion, Twu said on Oct. 9 that Cheng has to pay only NT$1.
Lee and Ding would be forced to share the rest of the sum, NT$49,999,999.
Twu is seeking additional damages from the new defendants.
"The total amount of the civil claim will definitely be increased since we have two more defendants. However, Twu hasn't yet decided how much the difference will be," Tsai said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS