An ex-convict and debt collector yesterday tried to propose to Vice President Annette Lu (
Tung Nien-tai (
"We are both very straightforward and honest," said Tung, who hires ex-convicts and AIDS patients to collect debt for clients in the belief they will scare people into paying up.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Tung, who runs a debt-collection service called ResuCredit Services Inc (
He made a name for himself by challenging what he called the "top 10 vicious cops in the country." Later, to press for the legalization of casinos, he held a national mah-jong contest.
His other "achievements" include provoking a prison riot, holding a seminar attended by the nation's leading gangsters and forming the Taiwan Communist Party.
"I believe we would make a good couple," he said.
Tung, dressed in a black tuxedo, said he had planned to present a bouquet of roses and a love letter to Lu while getting down on his knees to propose to her.
But he was unable to do so as his showy motorcade -- driven by dozens of car rental staff -- was barred from passing a group of 160 police officers who were assembled in front of the Taipei Municipal First Girls' Senior High School, several blocks away from the presidential office.
An angry Tung said he should have been given the chance to see the vice president.
"The least she could have done was to reject me to my face," he said.
Tung said he did not have plans to try proposing again.
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