A DPP lawmaker plans to sue Next magazine for libel after the tabloid-style weekly reported that the legislator beat his wife.
Ker Chien-ming (
"The report said I beat my wife, which is ridiculous," Ker said. "I swear I didn't beat her. If the report is true, I'll quit politics."
Ker said he and his wife would be filing the suit together. "Next is among the worst garbage in Taiwan. My wife and I are definitely going to file a suit," he said.
Representatives from the magazine said the story was based on an interview with Lin conducted at Cathay General Hospital, where she had gone for treatment.
"Ker's wife told us the story. We have a videotape of the interview," said Pei Wei (裴偉), executive editor at Next.
Cathay General Hospital declined to comment on the magazine's report yesterday.
Ker refused to say yesterday why his wife had gone to the hospital. "This is my family's business. I will only talk about what exactly happened in front of the court," the lawmaker said.
This isn't the first time the magazine's reports have landed the publication in hot water.
The Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office in March seized 160,000 copies of the magazine after it reported on secret funds maintained by the National Security Bureau. The story's reporter, Hsieh Zhong-liang (
TV show hostesses A-ya (阿雅) and Hsiao-S (小S) and singer Fan Hsiao-hsuan (
Lin Chin-lung (
The Presidential Office has filed suit against four Next employees as well. The four employees allegedly attempted to pose as photographers' assistants to gain access to the engagement party of President Chen Shui-bian's (
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