The acting chief executive of the P.League+ has been fired due to a sexual harassment allegation less than a week after taking over the leadership of the professional basketball league from its previous chief executive, who stepped down over similar charges.
The P.League+ board of directors relieved acting chief executive Chou Chung-wei (周崇偉) from the post and suspend him from his original role as marketing director as punishment for his actions, the league said in a statement on Monday.
The statement did not specify the length of the suspension, but it did say the league’s board of directors would probably take about a month to decide on a suitable successor.
Photo: CNA
Chou was let go because of a leaked video showing his attempt to hug a cheerleader of the New Taipei Kings in an unidentified karaoke bar on an unspecified date.
The video was released on Facebook by radio host and pundit Huang Yang-ming (黃揚明) on Thursday last week, two days after Chou took over the post from P.League+ founder and former chief executive Blackie Chen (陳建州).
It showed Chou approaching Amber (倩宇), the captain of the New Taipei Kings’ cheerleader squad, in a karaoke bar from behind and trying to hug her while she was singing a song with other patrons.
Amber managed to get out of the embrace.
“The person who leaked the video said that the incident was not made public because Blackie Chen took Chou to apologize to the victim in person after it occurred,” Huang wrote.
He saw the situation as rather ironic given that Chen decided to step down from his post and take time off on June 27 after having been accused himself of sexual harassment and misconduct by a few entertainers.
In an Instagram story on Thursday last week, Amber confirmed that she was the one in the video and said the Kings’ cheerleaders were invited to the karaoke bar being used by league staffers after the cheerleaders and staffers met at the KTV.
“[I] was quite shocked when it happened,” Amber wrote of the incident, adding that she soon returned to where the cheerleaders were gathered.
League staffers visited that suite and offered their sincere apologies and promised to punish Chou, she wrote, adding that she accepts how the league has dealt with the case thus far.
Chou wrote an Instagram post about what he did at the KTV and said he had apologized to Amber the next day before asking the league’s board of directors to take disciplinary action against him.
However, he said that a screen shot of crude comments made by him was fabricated and he has asked the police to investigate.
The screen shot was posted soon after the video on Internet platform PTT showing supposed text exchanges between the user and Chou in which Chou makes indecent comments about Amber and the cheerleaders of two other P.League+ teams.
Chen was first accused of sexual misconduct on June 27 by entertainer Tina Chou (周宜霈), who said she nearly fell prey to him on a trip to Hong Kong in July 2012.
Chen, who hired two lawyers to defend him, denied the accusation and issued a joint statement with his wife the next day asking Tina Chou for NT$10 million (US$319,285) in compensation.
However, that led to more entertainers backing Tina Chou’s story, including Yuan Kuo (郭源元), Julie Tsai (蔡玓彤) and DJ Swallow (妖嬌).
Tina Chou, Tsai and DJ Swallow worked with Chen when he hosted the television program Blackie’s Teenage Club.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
BACK TO WINTER: A strong continental cold air mass would move south on Tuesday next week, bringing colder temperatures to northern and central Taiwan A tropical depression east of the Philippines could soon be upgraded to be the first tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the next cold air mass is forecast to arrive on Monday next week. CWA forecaster Cheng Jie-ren (鄭傑仁) said the first tropical depression of this year is over waters east of the Philippines, about 1,867km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and could strengthen into Tropical Storm Nokaen by early today. The system is moving slowly from northwest to north, and is expected to remain east of the Philippines with little chance of affecting Taiwan,
RSS