The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said an Air Force lieutenant who allegedly forwarded pictures of "Air Force One" to his girlfriend was being investigated.
"We have yet to decide how to punish him. However, we had to ground him temporarily because of his emotional state," said ministry Spokesman Rear Admiral Wu Chi-fang (吳季方).
Lieutenant Jen Jiunn-kang (任駿剛) was one of the four pilots who flew F-16s as an escort for "Air Force One" after it took off for the president's trip to Palau on Sunday.
Cameras are prohibited at military bases or during missions. Jen was authorized to carry a camera with him to take pictures of the mission as a record for his fleet.
Jen forwarded the pictures to his girlfriend and she posted the pictures on a blog mocking the president with captions that read: "It's so much trouble to send the devil away," and "It is like eagles seeing off a frog."
"Air Force One" was compared to a "big frog" after its bottom was repainted green in April.
When the blog was first discovered by the press and made public, the military began to investigate the case and the blog was closed down on Monday.
"Although [Jen] was authorized to carry a camera, what he did was controversial. It [his punishment] depends on how the investigators look at his behavior," Wu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁芳) said that the military was over-reacting.
"If the military wants to punish somebody, it should punish Jen's superior officer," Lin said.
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