Ministry of National Defense officials yesterday said it took disciplinary measures for the alleged sexual harassment of a female cadet at an air force unit in Taipei and assault at an artillery training center in Pingtung County.
The female cadet was serving at Taipei’s Songshan Air Force Base, where she was allegedly sexually harassed by her superior officer, surnamed Lin (林), who was in charge of the Air Traffic Control and Information Wing at the base.
The female cadet, described as a poster girl for the air force’s recruitment campaign, reportedly quit her military service last month after she was unable to find the channels within the service to lodge her complaints.
Lin, a major general, had allegedly taken notice of the female cadet when she entered service, and allegedly touched her during outdoor exercise and ordered her to accompany him jogging at night.
Lin, who is married, reportedly contacted her on the Line messaging app, where he apparently asked her to sing for him.
He allegedly also asked her to post photographs, by telling her: “It would be best to show pictures of you without any clothing on.”
After she quit her service last month and received her official discharge, the cadet wrote on Facebook about what she had gone through.
Other air force personnel said it was not an isolated case, telling the media that Lin had a long history of intentionally touching, and using suggestive language and other forms of sexual harassment, but they were allegedly told not to make complaints so as not to jeopardize their careers.
Military officials said that the case was taken up for review in the past few days, and have handed out a major demerit to Lin, dismissed him from his supervisory job and transferred him as a consultant at the Air Force Command Headquarters.
ASSAULT
In another incident at an air force unit, a male cadet, surnamed Chen (陳), said he was physically assaulted by two fellow cadets on Sept. 22 at the Air Defense Artillery Training Center in Pingtung County.
Chen said that he was beaten for more than 10 minutes and sustained a concussion and other injuries. An ambulance was called to send him to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment, he said.
Trainees and supervisors at the center were careful to not cross the two assailants, who are allegedly gang members, Chen said, adding that they had behaved in a smug and quarrelsome manner while training at the center.
After the alleged physical assault was reported, air force officials said that Chen and the two assailants had been discharged as of Thursday.
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