Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wong Chung-chun (翁重鈞) yesterday sued a magazine for alleging that he fled the nation because he owed NT$500 million (US$15.5 million) to a gambling boss.
Wong filed a defamation lawsuit against the Chinese-language Next Magazine and is seeking NT$200 million in compensation.
Wong issued a statement through his office yesterday afternoon dismissing a story by the magazine, which alleged that he borrowed NT$500 million from a gambling boss named Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) for his campaign for the Chiayi County commissioner election last month.
Wong lost the bid to Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chang Hwa-kuan (張花冠).
The story alleged that Wong left for the US because he had been unable to pay off the debt after losing the election, further alleging that Wong used his family’s rice factory as collateral for the loan and closed his office in Chiayi after he could not pay it off.
Wong said he went to the US as a “visiting scholar” at the invitation of the University of Iowa, while his offices in Chiayi and the legislature remain open.
“This untrue story by Next Magazine has caused tremendous damage to the reputation of me and my family,” Wong said, adding that he hoped the court could do him justice.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) also dismissed the magazine’s allegation that Wang helped the legislator borrow money from the gambling boss.
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