Source: ChannelNewsAsia
Taiwan b-list actress blows whistle on prostitution ring
Taiwan
police recently busted a sophisticated online prostitution operation
for over a decade with over a thousand escorts, among them b-list
actresses and young models, reported Taiwan media.
Speculation
has been rife over the identities of the celebrities and models involved
after tabloids claimed that police sources had confirmed that the names
of three of them started with 'L', 'S' and 'K'.
Taiwan police
revealed over the weekend that the person who blew the whistle on the
online prostitution ring was a starlet who was being blackmailed by the
website owner, identified only as 'Zhang' by the police. The starlet,
who had appeared in Taiwan dramas, wanted to strike out on her own and
handle her own transactions after working with the web ring for some six
months.
'Zhang' who found out, sent someone posing as a client
seeking sexual favors from the starlet, in order to secretly record a
video of them engaged in sexual acts with a hidden camera. In order to
control the starlet, 'Zhang' threatened to leak the video and tell the
starlet's family about their dealings unless she paid 'Zhang' some
NT$1.6 million (S$68,775 or $55,000 USD).
However, even after
'Zhang' was paid, the website owner refused to let the starlet off. The
starlet who once thought of ending her life, eventually decided to call
the police instead.
Police said 'Zhang' had used similar methods
to keep errant girls in line. 'Zhang' and his accomplices have since
been charged with extortion and a number of other crimes.
Incriminating records
A
total of fifteen people were arrested when police raided 'Zhang's'
operation base last week. According to a police officer, the authorities
had discovered detailed records of the website's transactions during
their raid. The records showed that 'Zhang' had a clientèle of over
30,000 men and women, including some prominent figures in business,
politics and the entertainment industry. They also found a database,
searchable by clients, that contained information on the escorts working
for 'Zhang', ranging from basic facts like their age, height, weight
and price, to more intimate details even going as far as assigning tags
such as "not pretty" or "looks like Cyndi Wang (a popular Taiwan
actress)".
There were also records of custom packages for
businessmen where the escorts pretend to be the client's personal
assistant and go on trips with them for up to NT$200,000 (S$8,600 or
$6,900 USD) each time.
Taiwan b-list actress blows whistle on prostitution ring
Taiwan
police recently busted a sophisticated online prostitution operation
for over a decade with over a thousand escorts, among them b-list
actresses and young models, reported Taiwan media.
Speculation
has been rife over the identities of the celebrities and models involved
after tabloids claimed that police sources had confirmed that the names
of three of them started with 'L', 'S' and 'K'.
Taiwan police
revealed over the weekend that the person who blew the whistle on the
online prostitution ring was a starlet who was being blackmailed by the
website owner, identified only as 'Zhang' by the police. The starlet,
who had appeared in Taiwan dramas, wanted to strike out on her own and
handle her own transactions after working with the web ring for some six
months.
'Zhang' who found out, sent someone posing as a client
seeking sexual favors from the starlet, in order to secretly record a
video of them engaged in sexual acts with a hidden camera. In order to
control the starlet, 'Zhang' threatened to leak the video and tell the
starlet's family about their dealings unless she paid 'Zhang' some
NT$1.6 million (S$68,775 or $55,000 USD).
However, even after
'Zhang' was paid, the website owner refused to let the starlet off. The
starlet who once thought of ending her life, eventually decided to call
the police instead.
Police said 'Zhang' had used similar methods
to keep errant girls in line. 'Zhang' and his accomplices have since
been charged with extortion and a number of other crimes.
Incriminating records
A
total of fifteen people were arrested when police raided 'Zhang's'
operation base last week. According to a police officer, the authorities
had discovered detailed records of the website's transactions during
their raid. The records showed that 'Zhang' had a clientèle of over
30,000 men and women, including some prominent figures in business,
politics and the entertainment industry. They also found a database,
searchable by clients, that contained information on the escorts working
for 'Zhang', ranging from basic facts like their age, height, weight
and price, to more intimate details even going as far as assigning tags
such as "not pretty" or "looks like Cyndi Wang (a popular Taiwan
actress)".
There were also records of custom packages for
businessmen where the escorts pretend to be the client's personal
assistant and go on trips with them for up to NT$200,000 (S$8,600 or
$6,900 USD) each time.
