Chao doesn't know `men in black': lawyer

The attorney for the president's embattled son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), yesterday said his client did not know the identities of seven men in black suits who showed up for his bail hearing at the Taipei District Court last Thursday.

The seven `men in black' raised eyebrows on Thursday when they abruptly appeared and acted as Chao's bodyguards during the hearing, and the local media has been rife with speculation about their identities.

Chao's attorney Ku Li-hsiung (顧立雄) yesterday confirmed that Chao had asked former presidential housekeeper Lo Shih Li-yun (羅施麗雲) to arrange a van and a driver for his appearance in court.

Ku made the remarks yesterday on the sidelines of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) national convention.

The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper) yesterday quoted an anonymous source at a Taipei City police branch station as saying that Lo had asked a volunteer surnamed Cheng (鄭) at the Taipei police's Sungshan Precinct headquarters to hire the men as bodyguards for Chao.

The men were hired to prevent Chao from being jostled when appearing in court, the report said.

Local media, including the TV stations TVBS and FTV, yesterday reported that the men worked as nightclub bouncers.

Ku yesterday said his client had asked for Lo's help because Chao no longer has a personal driver and bodyguards.

Given the public uproar and suspicion stirred up by the mysterious identity of the "men in black," Ku said that he would advise Chao to keep a lower profile.

He would also advise Chao to be more careful when seeking assistance from friends, Ku added.