Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (
"As far as I am concerned, the truth may not necessarily be what was reported in the newspaper. The investigation is ongoing and we shall determine what really happened," Lee said during a press conference at the ministry yesterday morning.
His comments were in reference to a story that appeared in Monday's Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper), which quoted retired Navy captain Wang Chih-peng (王志鵬) accusing Shen of bringing a delegation to a local strip club rather than onto the US Navy's USS Santa Fe, a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine, at the invitation of the US Navy.
The story reported that Shen had brought six naval officers to Honolulu from Dec. 17, 2002, to Dec. 22, 2002.
During the trip, the US Navy invited Shen and his fellow naval officers to board the Santa Fe and participate in a drill.
Shen turned down the offer and instead brought his delegation to a strip club, the report said.
Shen subsequently would only admit to leading the delegation to a "regular nightclub for tourists."
In communique released by the Navy Command Headquarters late on Monday night, Shen said he regretted what he had done and would abide by the decision of the ministry on the matter.
Lee said the ministry could not rely on a single story to decide whether to reprimand a member of its personnel, adding that the investigation would take at least a week.
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