New Taipei City Police Department’s Sinjhuang Precinct (新莊) on Thursday charged Taiwanese YouTuber Max Lee (李堉睿) with indecent conduct and unlawful entry after he allegedly spent the night in IKEA.
Earlier on Thursday, Lee, who makes YouTube videos in which he performs pranks, posted a video to the Web site that appears to show him staying in the Sinjhuang branch IKEA overnight on Monday.
In the video, Lee appears to hide inside the store until early Tuesday morning, during which he films himself around the store, sitting on furniture and standing on tables, sometimes while only wearing a shirt.
Photo: Copy by Wu Jen-chieh, Taipei Times
The video also appears to show him undressing before pretending to take a shower in a store display.
When the store opened, Lee allegedly told store employees that he was an early customer, but they quickly informed him that the store had not yet opened and directed him out of the building, police said.
The video shows that while leaving the store, Lee proclaimed that he had “successfully completed the mission.”
The video was criticized by online commentators, with one person saying that Lee’s actions could cause security personnel and employees to lose their jobs.
The store manager, surnamed Wang (王), reported the case to the police on Thursday afternoon.
Lee was summoned by police yesterday to make an affidavit.
At the police precinct, Lee allegedly apologized, saying that his father, actor Lee Hsing-wen (李興文), who is best known for his portrayal of military personnel in Taiwanese TV series, was not pleased with his conduct.
Max Lee finished his affidavit at 3pm yesterday and declined to comment. He has since taken down the video from both his YouTube channel and his Facebook page.
It was not the first content he posted that generated controversy. Last year, he posted several pictures of what appeared to be cannabis in jars and extolled the benefits of smoking cannabis.
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